


Escaping the Final Night

by Whovian101



Series: Escape the Night [4]
Category: Doctor Who, Escape the Night (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-14
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-06-28 06:22:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19806502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Whovian101/pseuds/Whovian101
Summary: The Doctor decides to join Joey Graceffa in an attempt to save those who had died previously, but, as always, things do not go to plan and the Doctor finds himself in the same situation once again.This is pretty much a novelization of Joey Graceffa's YouTube Red series, Escape the Night Season 4, except the deaths are in different orders and with the Tenth Doctor as a guest.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I love comments. I would love to hear what you think, any ideas you may have, or what I should do next!

The Doctor bounded out of the TARDIS, fully expecting to see a large, turquoise planet covered in brilliant red flowers, only to find —

“Joey?”

“Doctor?”

They were standing in a circle around a box. Joey at the head, Mat on his left, and someone the Doctor hadn’t yet met on his right.

“Joey.” The Doctor was staring him dead in the eyes, “What have you done?”

“I haven’t done anything.” Joey promised, “but Doctor, I found a way to get them back.”

“What?” The Doctor narrowed his eyes, “Joey, you can’t change the past, you know that.”

“No, no, it’s not that!” Joey insisted, “but —“

Two people walked swiftly out from behind the rocks behind them.

“You ready?” Jael and Ryu stood stiffly.

“Doctor, do you trust me?” Joey asked.

“No.”

“Please.” Joey begged, “I just want to make things right.”

The Doctor hesitated, he didn’t trust Joey, not after the last three times, but if there was even the slightest chance that they could save those he lost…

“Fine.” The Doctor said, “But don’t think for a minute that I trust you.”

“So like, what’s actually happening between you two?” The person the Doctor didn’t recognize asked.

“What’s your name?” The Doctor asked.

“Brentman.” The Doctor nodded, then looked at Jael and Ryu.

“We’re ready.”

Jael lay out a map, “This is where your friends are being kept.” The Doctor memorised the map, every detail was crucial. “To enter the Museum of the Dead, we need to create a gateway to Purgatory. The crown,” she gestured to the large golden crown from the Victorian era, “generates the power. The cursed artifact” she pointed to the artifact from their first ‘adventure’ “has an evil to cut through the barrier protecting it. And the life crystal,” she touched the crystal Joey had kept last time, “allows entering without dying.”

“Now, the crown won’t last very long,” Ryu said.

“Joey, you’re going to be here, you take Bretman and the Doctor to where your friends are. I’ll take the rest through the roof. The Museum’s Collector should be avoided at all costs.”

“And what about me?” Mat asked. 

“You’ll be with me.” An amused Jael said. “Baby steps.”

Ryu and Jael opened their mouths and channeled the energy of the objects, a golden beam came out. The crown lit up with a purple glow, and a blue portal opened up.

“Go.” Rau called as the ground began to shake, they began to run, the Doctor launching himself through the portal. He spun around. Joey and Brentman were right next to him, the portal snapped shut.

“What happened?” Brentman gasped.

“I don’t know,” Joey said, “It was supposed to stay open.”

“Are you saying we’re stuck here?” Brentman asked in disbelief.

“Come on.” The Doctor urged darkly, and they departed again.

They made their way cautiously down the path, the Doctor pulled them behind a large boulder and watched the doorway of the large museum as a beautiful, powerful-looking African woman came walking out, a pale Medusa-like woman, and four armed guards behind her.

“That’s the Collector.” Joey whispered as she stood beside Medusa before the guards.

“We are leaving on an expedition to find pieces for my new exhibit. Keep careful watch.” 

The main guard dropped to one knee and Medusa draped a key over his neck. The Doctor made a mental-note of that. It looked important.

The guard rose once more and the Collector turned around, summoning a portal with her hands, red energy exploding out. She and Medusa walked into it and it disappeared.

“Come on.” The Doctor was now moving, staying out of view of the guards, and into the museum.

The Doctor pushed his way in, Joey grabbing a torch for him and Brentman behind him.

As he stepped in, the Doctor found himself in a room surrounded by glass display cases. Inside these cases: Tana, labeled as the Pin-Up Girl, Alex, labeled as the Aviator, Colleen as the Duchess, DeStorm as the Enforcer, Gabbie as the Hollywood Star, Rosanna as the Socialite, Tim as the Con Man, and Justine as the Adventurer. They looked frozen, trapped. In the center of the room was a small, geyser-looking formation, full of vibrant-yellow liquid.

“Oh my —“ Joey breathed.

“Joey, I’m scared.” Brentman whispered.

“They’re really here.” Joey said in disbelief. 

The Doctor was looking around. Anger pulsed through him. It was this anger that influenced the Doctor to grab the axe. And it was this anger that sent the axe crashing into the geyser. Energy exploded and sent veins coursing through the ground. The display cases shattered, leaving the occupants gasping in surprise.

“It worked!” Joey cried in delight, “Colleen!” He tried to run into Colleen’s arms, but she pushed him off.

“What’s going on? Are you serious?”

“Okay, listen,” Joey said, “we’re at a museum of the dead. You all died and we’re currently in purgatory. There’s an evil collector, she collected your souls, she brought you here to this museum of the dead —“

“Wait a minute,” Gabbie said, looking at Rosanna, “You died too?”

“Yes.” Rosanna confirmed.

“With him?” An accusatory finger was pointed at Joey.

“Yes.” Rosanna firmly responded.

“And you died, and you died, and you died —?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tim said, “I was at this party, yeah.”

“Yeah, we went to dinner…” Justine said quietly.

“Listen, I’m here to save you guys, okay?” Joey insisted.

“Save us? You killed us!” Colleen cried.

“I wish I could go back and change it all, and that’s why I’m here!” 

“I don’t trust anyone here,” Colleen said, “because, if I recall, last time I saw you everybody shoved me into a box of spikes and I was murdered.”

“Listen.” The Doctor said, cutting in. “I honestly don’t care who you trust, I don’t trust Joey myself, but if there is a chance we can get you out, we need to take it.”

“Fine.” 

“Right, we don’t know when the Collector will be back, so we need to start moving.” The Doctor said.

“Who is the Collector?” Tana asked. The Doctor looked expectantly at Joey.

“She goes to different eras and she collects people and monsters and creatures and you guys are one of her exhibits, okay?” 

“We have to move.” The Doctor insisted.

“I say all of us can go our own way, and Joey, you can die alone.” Colleen suggested.

“Listen, I’m here to rescue you guys!”

“Rescue us? You killed us!” Colleen cried.

“We have to go!” The Doctor shouted, “I honestly don’t care who trusts who at this point because nobody trusts anyone! We need to go inside and figure this out!”

There was a hesitation, and then a silent agreement and the eleven of them made their way through the gates.

Suddenly, at the other end of the courtyard was a guard, eyes yellow and as the liquid from the geyser.

“Run!” The Doctor shouted, but before he could move, Alex, who had strolled ahead, punched the guard in the face. As expected, the guard fought back.

Once again, the Doctor screamed, “Run!” And this time, people listened.

The Doctor slid behind a corner, looking around at the people who had followed. It was Joey, Brentman, Tim, DeStorm, Tana, and Gabbie. Colleen, Rosanna, Justine, and Alex has all been captured.

They made their way silently into the lounge. It was full of skeletons of animals as well as lion heads mounted on the walls.

“So we’re in a museum, is this where the Collector put us?” Gabbie asked, staring around.

The door was suddenly flung open incredibly dramatically as the Sorcerous casually strolled in.

“Look what the cat dragged in.” She grinned menacingly, “Last time we met, we killed each other. Shall we do it again?” She had pulled a knife, holding it high in the air and aiming at the Doctor.

“What do you want?” The Doctor demanded, then narrowed his eyes, the ghost of a smile on his face, “why are you here?” The Doctor laughed before she could respond, “you’re stuck here too, aren’t you?”

The Sorceress's face twisted into a bitter grin, “Always a clever one, aren’t you, Doctor.” The Doctor raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how you did it, but the exhibits are now loose, and the monsters inside them are not kind.”

“What happened to your powers, then?” The Doctor taunted, “Not as great as you used to be?”

“I would use my powers but I don’t have my staff, okay?” She hissed angrily. “So for now, you and I have similar interests.”

“So that’s your way of saying that, at least for now, we’re on the same team.” The Doctor said thoughtfully. 

“For now, yes.” She said forcefully, clearly not wanting to repeat.

“So put down the knife.” DeStorm suggested, but after the Doctor’s fourth time at this, he was not playing around anymore. He moved forwards, finger flying to the Sorceress’s neck, temporarily paralyzing her.

“What the hell?”

“Venusian Aikido.” The Doctor said, pulling the knife from her hand, “A grand-master pacifist; temporality paralyses while also being fundamentally harmless.”

The Doctor released his hand.

“Damn, boy! That’s badass.” Brentman said.

“Do you know where the Collector is right now?” Joey asked the Sorceress.

“The Collector left this in her study where I was kept.” She held out a small slab of metal. The Doctor stepped up, unafraid, and took it.

The piece was an Onyx trinket decorated with gears.

“Come on, we need to look around.” The Doctor said. They dispersed, eyeing around the room.

“Wait!” Joey called, pointing at a portrait, “That’s her, that’s the Collector!”

“What?” Tim called, “Damn, she’s fine.”

“That pretentious bitch.” The Sorceress hissed.

“Girl, you gave the same exact portrait at your mansion.” Joey cried.

“Isn’t she a copycat?”

“She wanna be you so bad.” Brentman said supportively. She hummed in agreement.

They began to look around again, and this time, it was Brentman who found something. “There’s a gear right here!” He called. The Doctor placed the piece into the clock. 

The piece slid into place and sent a plate cascading down and smashing to pieces on the floor. Inside it was a note. The Doctor began to read:

_ “When the Armageddon clock strikes the morning hour, all those outside their exhibit are burned to ash and sent to a final death in hell.” _

“That’s the museum’s self-defence system.” The Sorceress explained. She peered out the window at the guards. “The guards obey whoever is pharaoh, that symbol,” she pointed at the pharaoh symbol on the note, “is his sign. I’ve seen it. Come with me.”

The seven of them followed the Sorceress, some more willingly than others. They decided to split into two groups. Tim, DeStorm, And Tana went with the Sorceress to find out about the symbol, whilst the Doctor (who didn’t trust Joey and wanted to keep an eye on him), Joey, Brentman, and Gabbie went to try to attempt to find and break out Colleen, Rosanna, Justine, and Alex.

As they stepped out, they found that guards littered the grounds. The Doctor, having plenty of experience sneaking around, gestured to the others to follow and made his way to where he remembered the prison be.

“Hey!” The Doctor whispered to them, “listen, we’re gonna try to get you out. What have you found?”

We found an egg!” Rosanna said in excitement.

“Brilliant, you keep that in case you need it.”

“You guys, there’s a note in here!” Colleen called and began to read:  _ “The Collector of the Dead once ruled a kingdom among the living, but she wanted to break the circle of life and gain immortality. She discovered the secret of eternal life with the cosmic sphere.” _

It was then that the Doctor saw Mortemer, standing at the other edge of the corner.

“Hey, listen.” He whispered, “I don’t know if you can trust Mortimer,” before Colleen responded, he added, “he turned on us. I know there’s a lot of blame to go around, but just, just keep an eye out. We’re going to head down a bit and see what we can find.”

“Great.” 

The Doctor and his group made their way to the outside of the museum.

“Look at this.” The Doctor made his way towards a small description on the gate. Brentman read:

_ “With my five eyes I can see all things and keep the pharaoh safe, but they’ve been plucked out by his betrayers and can no longer protect him.” _

“So we need to find the five eyes.” Joey clarified.

They began to search, “I got one.” The Doctor whispered, removing the first eye from the bottom of the fountain and placing it in the socket. It was small, and it reminded him of something. “The egg!” He looked at the other three, “you stay here and keep searching.” 

The Doctor made his way to the prison. “We need the egg,” he said, “We need five, we’ve got one. Did you find any more?”

“No.”

“Right, give it here.”

“But what if we need it?”

“You won’t,” The Doctor assured, “And if you do, give me a shout and I’ll run it back.”

“Fine.” 

The Doctor was honestly shocked at how much people seemed to trust him. It usually did not go as such. 

By the time the Doctor has returned, Brentman had found two more eyes. They only needed one more.

After a few minutes of searching, the Doctor heard Alex shout for him. He sprinted back to the prison. 

“Do you need an egg?”

“No, we found another.” He handed it to the Doctor, “And we got a box.” 

“Brilliant. This is the last one.” He sprinted back to Joey, Brentman, and Gabbie, only to find that Gabbie had been captured.

The Doctor put the last eye in place and a large chest creaked open. Inside was what looked like a headpiece as well as the key to the prison.

The Doctor sprinted up for what he hoped was the last time and unlocked the prison.

The seven of them ran inside only to find DeStorm, Tim, and Tana. They voiced a slight argument at the sight of the Sorceress and Mortimer, but the Doctor managed to quell their protests and looked at the findings of the other group.

“We got a stick.” Tim handed him a staff handle. The Doctor grabbed the headpiece-like object and placed it on the staff. It lit up, suddenly charged with power. “There was a note that said this rod helps control the guards.” Tim added.

“Brilliant.” 

Without hesitation, the Doctor grabbed the staff and walked out of the museum and confronted the guards, walking out confidently and slamming down on the ground. The guards assembled, kneeling down before him.

“What do you command?” The main guard asked.

“That key around your neck.” The Doctor said, “Give it to me.” 

The guard handed it over, then kneeled again.

“Now, er, take a lovely vacation.”

“What?” There was a cry of protest.

“Come on, they’ll be far away.” The Doctor said, “Now, we need to find where this key goes.”

They made their way inside, the Doctor hesitating as he saw the Sorceress go off after the guards. He followed.

When the Doctor came upon the Sorceress, he found her standing over the main guard’s dead body.

“You messed with the wrong bitch.” She cackled, then stabbed him again. “This museum should be mine!”

“What do you think you’re doing?” The Sorceress spun around. “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” She cackled, “Oh, silly Doctor, I want exactly what you want.”

“And what’s that?”

“Revenge.”

“I don’t want revenge.”

“Oh, yes you do, you just don’t know it yet.”

The Doctor returned to the lounge only to find, where the portrait once was a box with nine key holes. He began to read the note that everyone else had already read:  _ For hundreds of years the Collector of the Dead has been stealing the souls of monsters and storing them inside her museum in purgatory. You are her latest find and she would like to keep you forever. But there might be a way out. Within her iron vault lies the cosmic sphere, which has the power to reshape space and time. But the vault can only be opened by the nine jeweled keys which are hidden among her exhibits. To retrieve them, you must unravel the evil mysteries of her museum and vote on two who must undertake a challenge that will end in a final death for which there is no return. Again, be swift, the Collector will be back soon with her most frightening exhibit yet. _

“No.” He breathed. “You can’t mess with time and space, humans can’t do that… it’ll rip the universe apart…”

The Doctor made his way down the hall to where he heard commotion. They were using the main guard’s key to enter a room.

They entered the room only to find a large Egyption exhibit.

“Guys, there’s a box with a lock on it!” Gabbie called. Colleen began to read the note attached to it:

_ “Anubis, god of the dead, holds the soul of the deceased pharaoh. If the ankh of life is placed on his sarcophagus and surrounded by those with clear minds and the chants spoken, a doorway can be opened to learn the secrets of his death.” _ Beneath that was the chant.

The eleven of them began to search for the ankh, and it was Tana who found it. Placing it on the sarcophagus, they stood around it and began to chant:

_ “Anubis, god of the dead,”  _ Colleen read out,  _ “release the soul of the pharaoh so his crimes can be avenged.” _

Without warning, the sarcophagus split open and the pharaoh’s mummy burst forwards, growling.

“Run!” The Doctor shouted as it sprinted after them. They ran.


	2. The Museum of Death

The eleven of them sprinted into a room, the Doctor barricading the door. He spun around, looking at where they found themselves.

Joey found a scroll and began to read:

_ “The Pharaoh was a kind ruler but those close to him were not. They killed him using dark magic and did not understand the evil consequences of their actions. As a mummy, his mind is a blur of hate and revenge, but only he knows the location of the first jeweled key.” _

“So what do we do, go back and talk to him?” Justine asked.

“Hell no!” Joey cried.

“Are you insane?” Tana agreed.

“No, we have to obviously open this.” The Doctor said logically, gesturing down at the locked chest.

“You guys, you guys, there’s a little box with a cat!” Colleen called in excitement. “There’s a note in it:

_ “The Pharaoh’s cats turn from stone to flesh by the light of the harvest moon and leave footprints of their travels. Their paths lead to Egypt’s most sacred symbols, which must be painted beneath their feet.” _

They began to search, finding four cats as well as paw prints on the rug, all leading in different directions. 

The Doctor began painting the symbols on the cats as each one was found, lightly and delicately, not wanting to get anything wrong. He wasn’t an artist, but for now, he would have to do.

Just as the Doctor painted the last symbol, a box jumped open. Inside was a scarab beetle, a note, and a map of an archway. The Doctor read:

_ “The Sands of Egypt hold many secrets and must be journeyed into to find the magic needed to gain control of the mummy’s mind. Place the scarab on the door to enter.” _

The Doctor, who had already memorized the map, led the others through the lounge and to the Sands of Egypt. 

Alex placed the beetle on the door of the Sands of Egypt and it swung open ominously.

The Doctor began to move forwards.

“Oh, y’all are just gonna go for it, okay.” Gabbie said in exasperation as they began to walk through thick grey fog.

“Oh, this looks like somebody’s gonna die.” Alex said.

“This is the Sands of Egypt, c’mon.” Joey called back, following the Doctor.

“No way.” said Gabbie.

“I’ve never been to Egypt.” Colleen tried to lighten the dark mood.

“What have you done?” A powerful woman asked as she took long, swift, confident strides across the ground.

“What have we done?” Tana asked quietly to herself.

“You’ve awakened the Mummy!” Alex looked nervous.

“I didn’t…It wasn’t…”

“It will kill us all!”

“Is this the Collector?” Tana asked, fear edging her voice.

“No.” DeStorm said, sounding irritated.

“I was once the Pharaoh’s wife and Queen.” The woman explained, her voice lined with sorrow, “Now I have nothing.”

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. Most people would have said ‘now I have no one.’ She had said ‘now I have nothing…’ Curious…

“What do you hope to gain by bringing his tortured soul back?” She demanded.

“We…We’re looking for a key with a gem on it.” Rosanna explained.

“A jeweled key.” Alex clarified.

“A jeweled key!” Rosanna confirmed.

“The jeweled key drove him mad.” The Queen warned, “And it will do the same to you.” She sighed. “But, if it will bring him back to a peaceful rest, I will help.”

In the center of the desert, there were two small statues of a beautiful woman with eagle wings.

“Wait, what is this?” Joey approached cautiously. “Guys, there’s a note over here!” He read out:

_ “The twin sphinx hold hold the key to the Mummy’s mind. The first one lies near the Pharaoh's sarcophagus and the second only could be summoned by placing the golden obelisk here.” _

“All right,” The Doctor said, taking charge, “Let’s split up. Alex, Joey, Gabbie, Colleen, Justine and I will head to the sarcophagus, and Tana, DeStorm, Tim, Bretman, and Rosanna will stay here.”

There was a collective nod, none wanting to go against his word, but the Doctor saw DeStorm looking at him with malice. Ah, yes, still hadn’t forgiven him from last time…

The Doctor, Alex, Joey, Gabbie, Colleen, and Justine entered the room very cautiously. They didn’t know where the Mummy was at this point, and to be perfectly honest, the Doctor wasn’t very keen on finding out.

“There is something the Pharaoh kept hidden from me.” The Queen said, striding over to a small locked box, and opening it up. Inside, was a gorgeous ruby. 

As the Doctor examined it, he realized that it was indeed not a ruby, but a gemstone from Telos. Despite their reputation for refrigeration technology, due to the cold temperatures, it had gorgeous gemstones. Not the best of the best, but much better than Earth ones. How the Pharaoh got one, the Doctor didn’t know. 

The Queen held out the crystal, and inside, the Doctor could see a small scroll. So, as any other reasonable person would do, he threw it to the floor and it smashed open.

“Doctor!” Colleen cried, “That was…very aggressive.”

The Doctor began to read:

_ “One of the two sphinx is locked inside the mystic box and can only be opened by the blood of one responsible for the Mummy’s return. The path to truth lies in urns holding the Pharoah’s organs. One at a time, each of you must select an urn and place it in the right location. If correct, the Goddess blinks once. If wrong, she blinks twice and you must try again. Each wrong placement puts your card in the voting pile. The oldest starts, then selects the next to go and so on. _

“Well, I’m the oldest,” The Doctor said, promptly picking up an urn. It read:  _ I eat and I speak. _

The Doctor made his way to the pictures. There was a leg, a vulture, but what really stuck out was a small mouth. He placed his urn there, and turned to where the light flashed once. He was safe.

Justine went next:  _ I walk without legs. _

“There’s a snake over here.” Alex suggested. Justine put the snake on the target, and sure enough, the Goddess blinked once. She was safe.

Gabbie was next:  _ I take what’s left. _

“Oh! That must be the vulture!” The Doctor called. Gabbie hurried over, placing down the urn. The Goddess blinked once. Safe.

Joey than went. One try. Safe.

Colleen went next:  _ I hold the meal. _

She placed her urn immediately on a bowl. They turned to the Goddess. It flashed once. Twice. Wrong.

Colleen cursed under her breath, moving the urn to the hand. Once.

There was only one urn left, but still plenty of options. It was Alex’s turn.

“ _ I burn for hours.” _ He read out.

“A candle, right?” Gabbie asked.

Alex cautiously placed down the urn. The Goddess blinked once. He was safe.

Just as the last urn was placed, a chest flicked open across the room. Inside was a large staff as well as a note. The Doctor held the staff as Alex read:

_ “The Staff of the Nile was used by the Pharaoh to determine the guilt of criminals. When touched to their forehead, the crystal will glow if they’re guilty of betraying the Pharaoh. Test everyone in the group.” _

The Doctor put the staff to his head. Nothing. He then went to Joey. Nothing. Alex. Nothing. Justine, Gabbie, and Colleen. All nothing. He tried to Sorceress, who had been accompanying them silently. Nothing. The Doctor rounded on the Queen.

“I knew it.”

“I loved my husband.” She protested, but kept stepping away, not wanting proximity to the staff. “I have nothing to do with this staff!”

“You killed him.” The Doctor breathed. 

She began to run. The Doctor chased after her, the others on his tail. He grabbed her, the others came to hold her down.

“Just tell me one thing,” The Doctor demanded, “Why?”

“I just wanted what rightfully belonged to me.” She cried out, “Egypt should have been mine! I was born to rule! The Pharaoh was weak.”

“Oh, and what a ruler you’d be.” The Doctor said, “I’ve known enough kingdoms to know that a rulership based on lies and deceits always gets what’s coming to them. The betrayers always get betrayed.”  
“You sound like you know.”  
“Oh, that I certainly do.”

“Doctor, I think you have to kill her.” Justine said.

“I’m not killing anybody.”  
“But we need her blood.”  
“She doesn’t need to die to shed blood.” But the Sorceress bound in front of him, wrapping her knives around the Queen’s throat, and in one swift motion, the Queen fell to the floor. Dead.

“YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO KILL HER!” The Doctor cried out.

There was a pause. Gabbie got up, dipping her fingers in the Queen’s blood and smearing it over the chest, which opened. Inside, was the sphinx.

“Come on,” Joey said, “Let’s meet up with the other group.”

The two groups met up in the lounge, each with a sphinx.

“You guys figure it out?” Tim asked as they approached.

“And we killed somebody.” Gabbie called back.

“You killed somebody?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Well, the Sorceress killed somebody.” Joey pointed out. The Doctor sighed.

“Just because someone else did it, doesn’t make it right.”

“But there’s a note here.” Rosanna said, handing it to Justine, who read:

_ “To recover the jeweled key, two must be chosen by vote to brave the Sands of Egypt. However, you may only choose from among your own group.”  _ There was a gasp.  _ “Friends will betray friends. Discuss among yourselves and then select the card of the person you want forced into the death challenge. Choose wisely. Revenge is a dish best served cold.” _

Everyone sat together and spoke about who they wanted to vote for. Everyone seemed to have a different strategy.

“All right guys, look, it’s time to vote.” Mortimer said, “If you got captured or if you made a mistake in the urn challenge, you already have a strike against you.”

The Doctor got up to vote. He thought for a moment. It always hurt to vote, he didn’t want anyone to die. He sighed and made his decision. He breathed, “I’m sorry, DeStorm.”

“All right, guys.” Mortimer said, examining the first result, “The first one in the challenge is: Tim.”

There was a gasp, that was unexpected.

“The second group,” Mortimer said, “Tana.”

No one had expected that either. Tana began to cry.

“He’s gonna beat me.” She whispered through the tears.

“For sure, but we loved having you here.” Gabbie said. The Doctor shot her a look, “What?”

“Tana.” The Doctor said, grabbing her hand. “Believe in yourself. You are more capable than you give yourself credit for.”

“Thanks.” She smiled a bitter-sweet smile.

The two left. 

The room was quiet. 

No one dared to speak.

Minutes passed.

It felt like hours.

DeStorm was the first to break the silence. “I don’t know if y’all realized this, but the damn Armageddon clock is at 12:00 midnight now.”  
“What’s that mean?” Alex asked.

“Last time we was here, it was at 10:00. The sun comes up at 6:00 in the morning. This thing is going to turn all of us to dust – well, all of you to dust, ‘cause I’m not dying.”

“Well, I’m just confused,” Colleen said, “‘cause I thought Joey said he was coming to save us and now, one by one, we’re getting picked off.”

“Okay, well, things change, okay?” Joey said.

“I know this is the same thing.” Justine said, “Joey, what are you talking about?”

Without warning, the door burst open, and out walked

“Tana?” The Doctor smiled at her. She smiled back gratefully.

“But guys, there’s, like, he’s really gone.” Joey said.

“Where did she go?” Rosanna asked.

“He’s in Hell!” Gabbie said. “The paper said Hell. We’ll be sent to Hell forever.” 

There was a silence. The Doctor didn’t believe in Hell, but that didn’t make anything any better.

“Let’s do it?” Alex finally said, gesturing to the jeweled key.

Tana picked up the key.

“Hey, do you understand what’s about to happen?” Colleen asked. “As soon as she puts that in there, one of the exhibits is gonna get unleashed.”

“Yeah, literally anything can happen.” Tana agreed.

“The only way to go is forwards.” The Doctor said.

Tana walked forwards, placing the key into the slot and turning it. A chest behind the jumped open. Inside was an old coin.

“What is it? Do you guys…Can you guys see what it is?” Alex asked, holding out the coin for all to see.

“It looks like bone…” Gabbie said.

“Oh, whoa, look at the…” Alex gestured to the door outside. Fog had enveloped the landscape. He opened the door, and without warning a large hand collided with his neck and a bird screamed.


	3. A Deal With A Deamon

A large figure dressed as a bird grabbed Alex’s throat, screaming. “Don’t touch my gold! Give it back or I’ll tear you to pieces!” He threw Alex to the floor and disappeared into the night.

“Alex!” The Doctor called, arriving at the man’s side.

“What was that?” Alex cried out, he appeared thoroughly shaken-up.

“Why would you open that door, you idiot!” Joey cried.

“Oi!” The Doctor glared at Joey with a menacing look.

“What did he say?” Colleen asked.

“He said to give him back his gold.”

“He must mean the coin.” The Doctor reasoned.

“Guys, there’s a note out there!” Justine cried. Joey hurried outside to collect it, then ran back in, not wanting to see that bird-man again. 

_ “Garuda traded his soul for gold,”  _ Joey read,  _ “And you soon will do the same. Gather as many coins as you can, because the two with the fewest coins at the end will be forced into the final challenge.” _

“This is so messed up.” Tana said.

“It’s like every man for ourselves, go find as many coins as we can?” Asked Gabbie. 

“Yeah.”

“All right, well, I’m gonna start looking ‘cause I don’t wanna be the one with the least coins.” Colleen said, splitting from the group.

The group began to run around, searching for coins, but none were found. The Doctor walked calmly through the halls, the sounds of a bird screeching echoed from outside, until he found the new exhibit. Calling the others over, he looked at the sign.  _ Indian Exhibit. _

They entered, only to find that the door led outside. It looked out upon a large front patio covered in boxes and boxes of gold and jewels.

“Where is it?” Garuda, the bird-man screamed, digging through his gold and jewels. “Who stole my gold! I’ll kill them!” He kicked a small pillar. “Where is it?” He screamed, kicking a box, and dashed off into the night, no doubt to search for his coin.

“Look, there’s a scroll.” The Doctor pointed out. They quietly hurried down to the boxes of jewels, and Colleen began to read the scroll:

_ “The waters of Garuda are tainted with the blood of his victims. You must find a way to cleanse it by connecting the water to a source of pure light.” _

“The moon?” Suggested Justine.

“The fire, the moon light?” Tana asked.

“We could find a Brita filter.” Rosanna suggested.

“Is it these lamps?” Alex suggested, pointing at the lamps around them, “It’s the only light we’ve got.”

“It’s worth a try.” The Doctor said, “It says we need to connect them, let’s line up and one person touches the fountain, the other the lamp.”

Alex touched the lamp with one hand, Tana beside him, Colleen beside her, then Gabbie, DeStorm, Rosanna, Justine, Bretman, Joey, and the Doctor touched the fountain.

Without warning, the red light that had been emanating off the fountain disappeared and it was engulfed in white light.

“Guys look!” Rosanna called, pointing to the wall. On the wall was now written:  _ Pay the one who never forgets. _

“Like an elephant!” Colleen cried. “An elephant never forgets!”

“There’s an elephant right here!” Gabbie cried.

The Doctor pulled out the coin and placed it in the slit in the glass elephant’s back.

Without warning, coins began falling from the sky, littering the ground. The Doctor wasted no time, dropping to the ground and picking up the coins. 

Finally, when there were no more coins to gather, they made their way to a trunk with a note on it. 

_ “Sacrifice two coins by tossing them in the fountain to open. Decide carefully. Those with the fewest coins left at the end will be forced into the final challenge.”  _

“So, we need to figure out who has the least.” Colleen said.

“I have fourteen.” Gabbie said.

“I have fourteen too.” Tana held out hers.

“I have fifteen!” Justine said.

“Twenty-eight.” Colleen said.

“What?”

“Honey, I’m not gonna die!” Colleen cried.

“I have twenty-four.” Joey said.

“Twenty-five.” Said the Doctor.

“Eighteen.” Rosanna smiled sweetly.

“I have thirty-two.” Bretman held up his hand dramatically. “Catch up.”

“How many do you have?” Colleen asked DeStorm.

“Doesn’t matter.” DeStorm claimed coolly.

“What do you mean?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Come on, you have to play fair.” Colleen cried.

“How many do you have?” Joey demanded.

“I have twelve.” Alex said.

“I got thirteen.” DeStorm said. The Doctor looked at him. He was lying.

“Let us see.” Colleen demanded. “You’re acting shady.”

“He has twelve, I got thirteen.” DeStorm claimed.

“Oh, isn’t that convenient that you have one more than him?” Colleen asked rhetorically, “Let’s see how many you have.”

“Yeah, show your coins.” Tana called.

The guests erupted in noise.

“Well, we were the last two anyway.” Alex called defensively.

“I have thirteen, he has twelve coins.” DeStorm continued to claim.

“Oh, so we’re gonna take your word?” Tana demanded.

“I got it, I got it y’all! I got y’all.” Brentman said, “It’s on me. It’s on me.”

Brentman tossed his coins into the fountain. The chest jumped open. Alex was the first to the chest, and therefore the one to read the note:

_ “Garuda guards the next key, which he will never give up alive. Prophecy requires he be slain by his own blades. They have been hidden by Kali, a demon goddess, to taunt him. One is in heaven and one is in hell. Be careful, if Garuda captures you, he’ll take half of your coins.” _

They gasped. Half was a lot.

“So, let’s split up.” The Doctor said, “Gabbie, Tana, Justine, DeStorm, Joey, you go to hell with the Sorceress. Colleen, Rosanna, Brentman, Alex and I will head to Heaven with Mortimer.”

The Doctor had decided to split Alex and DeStorm up. He saw something was going on there.

The groups split, and the Doctor, Colleen, Rosanna, Brentman, and Alex followed Mortimer into the house.

Heaven wasn’t exactly as it was usually portrayed. The gates were old, it was covered in overgrown, twisted vines. It was foggy, making it difficult to see.

“Be careful. We’re looking for a blade, right?” Colleen asked.

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy.” The Doctor admitted.

As they walked forwards, the Doctor spotted a small shrine. He recognized the goddess there, it was a shrine of Vishnu.

_ “Vishnu is the guardian of the heavens,”  _ Bretman read,  _ “And beneath his feet lies a secret. Prove your worthiness by completing Vishnu’s four trials. They must be completed one at a time in the proper order.” _

_ “Trial number one,” _ Alex read from the scroll now,  _ “carrying the holy water.” _

“Over there!” Rosanna called, and indeed there were two pails of water attached together by a pole and some rope.

The Doctor began to read:

_ “The weakest among you must carry my blessed burden to Shiva and back. If you cannot do it, you must toss two coins over the edge.” _

“Who’s the smallest, tiniest person here? Anybody?” Alex looked directly at Rosanna.

“You got this.” The Doctor smiled, remembering from the last time he saw her, she’s a lot stronger than she looks.

Rosanna picked up the pails and put the bar over her back, balancing them. She began to walk, slowly, yet steadily. It was clear that the pails were heavier than they looked, but she was still making brilliant progress with them.

She finally made it to the statue, releasing the bar with one arm to touch the statue, yet not letting it become unbalanced. She touched the statue, then turned, making her way back.

When Rosanna placed down the pails at the other end, a candle at Vishnu’s shrine flickered on. One task complete.

“Rosanna, that was brilliant.” The Doctor praised. 

_ “Trial number two,”  _ Colleen read,  _ “The Sacred Stump.”  _ The group made their way to the only stump in the area.

_ “Face the mountain and hold the sacred pose for thirty seconds.” _ Alex read. The Doctor looked at the image. It was simply the partner tree pose. The Doctor stood up on the stump with Colleen, mostly holding her up. It wasn’t perfect by any means, but they did balance, and with a breath of relief, the second candle ignites.

_ “Trial number three, the prayer plaques.”  _ Rosanna read. 

Without warning, Garuda jumped out, screeching.

“I’ll rip you apart!” 

“Run!” The Doctor shouted, and the five of them ran, diving behind bushes and pots and walls, but he grabbed Bretman, dragging him into the house.

They hurried back out now that Garuda was gone.  _ “The prayer plaques,”  _ Rosanna repeated.

“There’s an arrow here.” Colleen pointed out. “And it says  _ ‘everything… I… words… my… or… the.’  _ There’s gotta be something missing from them.”

The Doctor began to walk around, examining some strange pillars with statues on them.

“Look!” He called, “These have words too!” The Doctor’s had  _ offer, whatever, body, or,  _ etc. The four others ran over to the other pillars.

“Mine is number two!” Colleen announced.

“I’m at four!” The Doctor called.

“I have five!” Rosanna said.

“I’m at three.” Alex called.

Just then, Bretman came hurrying down to them.

“That broke bird took my coins.”

“Well, we have to hurry and finish so he doesn’t take more,” Colleen said, “Come here.”

Bretman went to his own pillar. “I’m one.”

“Right, brilliant. Bretman, then Colleen, then Alex, me, then Rosanna. Bretman, start with your first word.”

“Whatever.”

“I.”

“Do.”

“With.”

“My.”

“Body.”

“Works.”

“Mind.” 

“I.”

“Bow.”

“To.”

“The.”

“Great.”

“Lord.”

“Vishnu.” Rosanna finished.

A chest popped open. Inside was a short sword. The Doctor picked it up. 

They began to make their way back inside, when Colleen suddenly found a scroll.

“It says: ‘ _ Open me later.’”  _ She said. They paused. 

“Come on, then.” 

The two groups met back up on the patio above the Indian Exhibit.

“You guys have a blade?” Colleen asked, as the other team did not seem to be carrying any weapon.

“We have bad news.” Gabbie said.  
“We didn’t get the blade.” DeStorm cut straight to the chase.

“The demon tricked us.”

“Wait, guys, look at these symbols!” Rosanna suddenly cried, pointing to the ground. Indeed, on some of the hexagonal bricks on the ground were symbols. 

“Well, let’s each stand on one and see what happens.” The Doctor suggested.

“I’m not standing on the red one.” DeStorm said, stepping back, for indeed there was one red symbol in the midst of the black ones.

“I’m not standing on it either!” Justine said.

“Me either.” Alex said.

“Right, brilliant, I will.” The Doctor said. With that settled, the others stood on their own symbols.

Just as they all arrived on a symbol, the fountain nearby lit up. The Doctor pulled the box out of it. On the cover of the box, it read:

_ “It’s almost time to count your coins and face Garuda. Reach into the box and claim one scroll. Start with the person on the red symbol and go around the circle to their right. Once everyone has drawn, open and read the scrolls in the opposite order. Any others found are read at the end.” _

The Doctor took the first scroll. Tana was next. Then Rosanna, Joey, Gabbie, Brentman, DeStorm, Colleen, Justine, and finally Alex. Alex was the first to read.

_ “Give two coins to anyone.” _

“I’ll take up, it’s fine. I volunteer.” Colleen said.

“My bag’s open.” Joey said.

Alex strode around, “I’m gonna give my coins to DeStorm.” He handed DeStorm two coins.

Alex was going for an alliance. The Doctor could tell, but whether this alliance was two-sided, the Doctor didn’t know. DeStorm was playing along for now, but whether that would last or not…

“You don’t even like DeStorm.” Brentman protested.

“Oh, yes he does.” DeStorm grinned.

Justine was next.  _ “Make someone give away half their coins, but they choose how. None of them can go to you.” _

“You should pick the person with the most amount of coins.” Tana suggested.

Justine nodded.

“That’ll be Colleen.” DeStorm smiled.

Colleen decided to evenly distribute the coins. The Doctor liked how she played.

Colleen was next. “On the outside of my scroll, it says,  _ ‘name someone you hate.’” _ She sighed. “Well, I don’t hate anybody, but I have strong negative feelings towards a couple of people here. One would be Joey, because we wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. And the other person would be DeStorm.”

“We have no history.” DeStorm protested.

“He hasn’t been helpful at all. He’s been rude. He’s been shady. You just stand and let us figure everything out –”

“What’s the rest of your scroll say?” Alex asked.

_ “Give three coins to the person you named.” _

DeStorm laughed. Colleen looked as though she might slap him in the face.

DeStorm went next.

_ “Take three coins from anyone.”  _ He looked up, smiled. “Hi, Doc.”

The Doctor handed him three coins.

_ “Trade coin bags with the person to your right.” _ Brentman read. He took DeStorm’s bag.

_ “Trade coin bags with the person to your left.” _ Gabbie read out. She traded with Joey.

_“Give away five of your coins to whoever you choose.”_ Joey pulled out five coins.  
“I’m gonna give these coins to someone who hasn’t trusted me since the moment that I got here.”

“Everybody open their bags.” Gabbie said.

“And it’s someone who I really care about… and someone that I hurt a lot and… It’s Colleen.” He handed her the coins. She smiled, it was sweet, grateful, mending.

“Thanks.”

“Aww.” Tana smiled.

“That was the fakest shit I’ve ever seen.” Bretman said.

“Bitch, please.” Joey said.

_ “Name your best friend,” _ Rosanna read, “Joey.” She looked at the scroll. “Oh my gosh! This is a mind game!”

“What does it say?” Alex asked.

_ “Take three coins.”  _ Rosanna said in a small voice. “Joey, I’m so sorry.” 

_ “Take two coins from anyone.” _ Tana read, and held out her hand to the Doctor, who handed her the coins.

The Doctor looked at his scroll.  _ “Give half of your coins to any one person you chose.” _ He cast his gaze around, handing half of his coins to Joey.

“Oh, thank you!” 

“That’s all the scrolls, right?” Alex asked.

“No, I got this one.” DeStorm raised a scroll he had from hell.

“And I got one too.” Colleen held the one from heaven.

_ “Name your best frenemy out loud, and then open.”  _ DeStorm read. He and Alex grinned, pointing.

“Hey, m’boy.” He continued to read.  _ “You can give the person you named half of your coins, or you can steal half of theirs.” _

“Decisions, decisions.” Alex said.

“Ain’t no decision. Give me half of your coins, boy.”

Alex seemed a little surprised, but handed DeStorm half his coins anyway.

“Did you think he was gonna give you half of his coins?” Tana scoffed.

“What would you do?” DeStorm asked.

“I don’t know, I gave you coins.” Alex said.

“Is that half?”

“You got it all.” There was a pause. 

“Nah, I’m just joking, here you go.” DeStorm handed not only Alex’s coins back, but half of his own. It had been a test. Alex had passed.

_ “Steal all the coins from one of your friends and give it to someone else.” _ Colleen read. She took them from DeStorm. That was expected. And she handed them to Joey. 

“Really?” Joey looked astounded.

“You did it for me.”

“Who has the lowest?” Tana asked.

“That’ll be DeStorm and I.” The Doctor said cheerily.

“Don’t get too excited, you won’t win a second time.” DeStorm had clearly not gotten over the first time the Doctor had won.

“Come on, let’s go to the lounge, then.” Mortimer said, and the others followed. 

DeStorm and the Doctor silently made their way to the Indian Exhibit. As they arrived, they spotted a note, the Doctor began to read:

_ “Make an offering of four gems to Vishnu on his golden pedestal to receive the jeweled key, for even Garuda bows to him. The gems are hidden amongst the nests. You can only retrieve your colour. The first to make the offering will be blessed with protection, and the other will be torn to pieces.” _

There was a pause.

“Oh, shit.”

“I’ll find red, then? You find blue.” The Doctor suggested.

“Nah, red’s my colour.” DeStorm was off.

“Right, brilliant, blue it is.”

The Doctor sprinted around, the blue was more hidden, didn’t jump out as much as the red did, but the Doctor, with his superior Time-Lord biology, had a keen eye. A very keen eye. He was quite good at spotting things. He found his first blue gem in a chest as he pulled shelves out in his desperate attempt for survival, then another as he kicked a box as he ran, it shattering, revealing another gem. 

A vase shattered, and from behind him, the Doctor could see DeStorm already with his first. He quickly found another inside a large jeweled chest he was rifling through. DeStorm was catching up. 

DeStorm and the Doctor placed the third gem at the same exact time. There was only one more left. The Doctor’s eyes flickered across the exhibit. There it was. Glinting in the lamp-light. He dove for it, jumping back to his feet.

The Doctor sprinted towards the pedestal. 

DeStorm found his last one. He ran too.

It was down to a simple footrace. 

The Doctor slammed the fourth gem onto the pedestal. He had won.

But at what cost?

He looked at DeStorm, an apologetic look crossed his face.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

Garuda came running out. He grabbed DeStorm, who had lost his usual cool and was attempting to fight the bird-man off. Claws pierced skin and the last thing the Doctor heard of DeStorm was an agonizing scream that he knew would haunt his days.

A beautiful woman approached from behind him, the Doctor spun around. She had stunning blue skin and black hair, and complicated necklaces and bracelets covered her chest and wrists. She wore a nose-ring as well as a skirt made of severed hands. 

The Doctor grabbed the jeweled key, then turned back to her, she was extending a long knife to him.

“The riddle is now complete.”

“You’re not leaving!” Garuda suddenly screamed. “Vishnu is no longer my god!”

“I don’t care who your god is.” The Doctor said, picking up the other blade, “I am the Doctor, Time-Lord of Gallifrey. I am the Oncoming Storm, the Destroyer of Worlds. I’m giving you one chance and one chance only. Run away. Run away and live another day.”

“You are no lord to me!” Garuda ran at the Doctor, who in one swift motion, smashed the bird-man into the wall, blades against his neck.

“I’m trying to give you a chance.” The Doctor said, “Take it. Run.”

“I will die with honour before I run like a coward!”

“Than so be it.” 

Garuda was dead before he hit the ground.

The Doctor closed his eyes. What had he become? What had this horrible game done to him? What had Joey condemned for him?

The blue woman was laughing.

The Doctor went back inside.

The door was pushed open and the Doctor walked through. He was no longer confident, strong, powerful, as he had looked so many times before. He was ashamed. Afraid. He was just tired. Tired of it all. Tired of this game.

“Doctor!” 

The Doctor couldn’t even hear the congratulations the team gave him. He was already so done. They hadn’t even gotten started yet.

The Doctor handed Rosanna the key, and she pushed it into the lock.

There was a silence.

Suddenly, every door in the room creaked open, and in came men and women in Chinese garb carrying paper dragons and weapons as if it were the new year.

Over the noise, the Doctor could hear Tana say:

“We’re about to die.”


	4. A Wedding To Die For

The Doctor felt the people around him, filling up the room. And gas. There was a gas filling up the room. The Doctor could feel his respiratory bypass kicking in, but the dose was too condensed. The room began to dim and the Doctor’s vision went black.

The Doctor opened his eyes. He felt groggy, not clear of mind. That was – discomforting.

“Guys, are you here?” Alex called.

“I’m here!” The Doctor shouted back.

“Yeah!” The Doctor could hear Joey call.

It then occurred to the Doctor that the reason his vision was out was because there was a bag over his head. One hand was chained up, but he moved his other hand, removing the bag.

“Whoa. What is this?” Alex called out. 

“We seem to be chained to boxes on the patio.” The Doctor called back dryly. 

In looking around, it seemed that Alex, Bretman, and Joey were out here with him. Tana, Colleen, Rosanna, Gabbie, and Justine – all the girls now that he thought about it – were nowhere in sight.

Without warning, a man and a woman came strutting forth.

“They’re the Emperor’s foreign mercenaries.” The man explained in Manderin to the woman. The Doctor knew that only he and Joey (who had traveled in the TARDIS in the past) could understand them. “I know they’re after the Dragon Spear.”

“We need to kill them.” The woman said, “or else they’ll stop the rebellion.”

“Oh, you needn’t do that.” The Doctor answered back in Manderin, “We just need to steal a key from the Emperor. We don’t want the spear, but we’ll help you find it. We’re on your side.”

“You wish to bargain your way out?”

“Yeah, we’ll give you our services, and you don’t kill us.”

They paused, considering the offer.

“You have one hour!” The man said, “If you cannot bring us the spear in one hour, you are dead.”

“Let us out of the chains first. The faster we’re out, the faster you get your spear.”

“Fine.”

“Deal.”

They walked around, unlocking the chains. And then, as suddenly as they had come, they were gone.

“So…what just happened?” Bretman asked.

“Well, there’s good news and there’s bad news. Good news: I convinced them not to kill us.”

“And the bad news?” Alex asked.

“Well, bad news: We have one hour to find a Dragon Spear.”

“There’s a note over here.” Joey said, picking it up and beginning to read:

_ “The Dragon Spear was carried by a great general into battle and is the sign of a true leader. The spear can only be found by those who exhibit the characteristics of the great warriors of China. Only one of you can complete each of their challenges. Nce all tasks are complete, stand as one in front of the fountain in matching pose. Failing a challenge will result in your name going into the voting pile. Complete the tasks in the following order: breaking boards, armoured pull ups, archery practice, and Chinese Chess.” _

“Brilliant,” The Doctor said, “I’ll play chess. My people invented the game.”

“I thought that was only normal chess?”

“Well, international was just the final draft.”

They made their way to the boards. Alex began to read:

_ “A true master of martial arts can easily break a board with their hand in a single strike. Wear this sash and feel the chi.” _

“Honestly, I feel like this is gonna hurt my hands, so I don’t wanna do this one.” Joey said, taking a step back.

“But are you better fit to do this one than the other ones?” Alex asked. “You’re gonna do those pull-ups with the armor on?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just saying –”

“I mean, honestly, this kinda goes with my outfit, so yeah.” Bretman said, picking up the sash and tying it around his forehead.

“Don’t punch with your rings on.” Joey advised.

“I wouldn’t punch with your fist,” The Doctor said, “Hit the middle of the board and aim past it with your palm.”

“Girl, Bruce Lee is my great-uncle.” Bretman said, he placed the bottom of his palm just above the wood, bringing it up and down in preparation.

One.

Two.

Three.

Bretman hit the board and it broke cleanly.

“That was brilliant.” The Doctor praised.

Next was armored pull-ups. Joey demanded he do that. He wasn’t going to let Alex tell him he couldn’t.

The Doctor helped him into the armor.

“Good luck.”

“Thanks.” Joey positioned himself beneath the bar.

“One.” They were all counting.

“Two.”

“Three.”

“Four.”

“Five.”

“You’ve got this, Joey.” The Doctor encouraged.

“Six.”

“Seven.”

Beads of sweat slid down Joey’s face as he fought to continue.

“Eight.”

“Nine.”

“One more!” Bretman called.

“Ten!”

Joey dropped from the bar.

“You were brilliant.”

“Thanks.” Joey grinned at Alex, who looked thoroughly shocked.

“I got the archery.” Alex said as they approached the station. He picked up the note and read:

_ “One and only one may take the bow to strike the target from behind the line. Dawn this crimson headband to gain eagle eyes.” _

“Alex, have you ever shot a bow and arrow before?” The Doctor asked, seeing Alex’s poor form.

“No, I have not.”

“Do you want me to do it?”

“No, I got it.”

“Are you sure, do you want some advice on how to hold your bow?”

“Okay, sure, whatever.”

Alex held up the bow, arrow much too high.

“Okay, lower your arrow and –”

But Alex had already shot. 

He didn’t even hit the target.

He loaded another arrow, not waiting for help, releasing it and turning his head away like they do in movies. This resulted with his arrow flying to the right.

“Don’t look away –”

Another miss.

Another miss.

Final arrow. The Doctor snatched it out of Alex’s hands.

“Hey!”

“Right foot forwards!” The Doctor said, and Alex did as he was told. The Doctor loaded the arrow for him, showing him the proper way to hold it, they were aiming directly at the target. “Right, so the moment I let go, you shoot. No hesitation. No time for you to get off target. Got it?”  
“Got it.”

“Go!” The Doctor jumped back, but Alex hesitated, he turned his head to look away, releasing the arrow. It was too high and too far left.

They sighed and approached the chess board.

“Are you ashamed of yourself?” Joey asked Alex.

“I am.”

“You should be.”

The Doctor sat down and read the note:

_ “You are the red player about to begin a game of Chinese Chess. You must place all the remaining pieces to finish setting up the board, then perform the most common (and most threatening) opening move, known as The Central Cannon Opening. Follow the symmetrical pattern of pieces already on the board to complete setting up for a new game.” _

The Doctor began arranging the pieces speedily, moving the final piece. Easy. Done.

The final thing they had to do was pose like the warriors in the painting beside them. 

Just as their pose was completed, a large fabric unraveled from the top of a door. On the bottom of it, was the Dragon Spear. The Doctor removed it and they entered the lounge, only to see the Tana, Colleen, Gabbie, and Justine coming their way.

“Ro is about to get married!” Justine cried as they made their way over to them.

“Married?” 

“Okay, so there’s this Emperor and he picked whichever one he thought was the most beautiful and funny, and he picked Ro. So, they’re getting married and she’s gonna kill him because there’s a jeweled key on his sword.”

“What are you wearing?” Joey asked. It was traditional Chinese dress for women.

“The Emperor made us dress up like this. He was…kinky.”

“What did you do?” Gabbie asked.

“Well, we got captured by a dragon –” Joey began.

“And we were blindfolded.” Alex added.

“So you guys were going through some kinky stuff, too.” Tana said.

“Then we had to get through some puzzles.” Alex continued uncomfortably. “We all accomplished our goals…”

“Uh, we didn’t all accomplish our goals.” Joey said bluntly.

“We gave you an hour!” The man and woman came bursting through the door.

“And we got the spear!” The Doctor called, tossing it over.

“So now you can help us?” Joey asked optimistically.

“We can get two inside of the Emperor’s wedding ceremony. The man said, “to serve as distractions as we plot his death.”

“Perfect.”

They left. The Doctor began to read the note:

_ “The Emperor demands that he be entertained at his wedding and desires to see a duel to the death – _ because of course he does.  _ – Two must be selected by vote to battle for the Emperor’s pleasure. Choose your champions wisely.” _ There was a pause.

“I just wanna say, Alex failed miserably coutside…” Joey said, “And I feel like that should speak for itself.”

“Come on, let’s not point fingers, let’s just vote.”

The Doctor looked around. The room looked nervous, but they always did after a vote and before the results.

“The first up:” Mortimer said, “Alex.”

“Surprise.” Alex said sarcastically.

“Second: Justine.”  
“What, me? I did nothing!” Justine cried.

Tana smiled. Something happened there.

The room was quiet. Anxious. 

Suddenly, Alex came sprinting back into the room, Rosanna, looking quite lovely, following behind.

“Justine is dead.”

“Yes, we figured that much.”

Alex walked across the room and placed the key in the lock.

There was a voice that echoed through the halls, the origin unknown. But the words were very clear:

_ “Death is coming for you!” _


	5. Dark Magic And A Twisted Fate

It was one thirty in the morning. They had four and a half hours until the sun rose. 

Suddenly, glass shattered behind them and the Doctor was the first to make his way towards the noise. He opened two large medieval doors only to find a circular room containing suits of armor and a table and chairs, and a goblet for each was set. Impaled into one of the chairs was an arrow with a note. The Doctor dislodged it and began to read:

_“Camelot has fallen. The Black Knight has plundered the land and murdered King Arthur. He now guards the next Jeweled Key. To defeat him you must pull Excalibur from the stone, for it is the only blade he fears. The most holy among you must kneel before the cross to know Arthur’s will.”_

The Doctor froze. Arthur was dead. It had been his job to protect the king, and he had died. Yes, he lived out his purpose and saved the kingdom, but he had been safe. Now he was gone.

“The most holy?” Tana asked.

“Tana, you’re out, babe.” Gabbie said.

“Holy typically means a good-natured person –” Colleen suggested, but was interrupted by Alex.

“Do we have any virgins in the room?”

There was a very awkward pause.

“I would say the Doctor is probably the most holy…” Joey said.

“As flattering as that is, Joey,” The Doctor said, his eyebrows raised, “I think we both know that’s not true. I would say, Ro…”

“Aww, me?” Rosanna looked up. 

“It’s worth a shot.”

Rosanna knelt before the cross, and with a click, a chest opened. Joey was the first one over, holding up a bottle of wine. 

“Alcohol?”

Alex began to read the note:

_“To find the pathway to Excalibur, fill each of the 8 Chalices with wine, but do not touch them yet. Once they are filled, all must touch the cross to hear the story of the Knights of Camelot. After the story, each of you must take a seat before a chalice and drink together like knights. However, listen carefully, as two of the chalices are cursed. The names of those who drink from them will go into the voting pile.”_

Colleen filled each chalice with wine and the eight guests made their way to the cross.

 _“The knights of Camelot drank together in glory,”_ A voice echoed through the halls. _“Each from one of the chalices. Sir Lamorak drank from the chalice of the king’s army. Sir Lancelot drank from the chalice of the talking forest.”_ The Doctor listened carefully, trying to absorb each word, but the discovery of Arthur’s death… It was much. He had spent many years on Earth trying to protect the King. _“When they drank together as knights, the path was revealed, though not without cost.”_ The story continued, and the Doctor could tell he’d been missing chunks, but it was difficult to place his grief aside. _“So choose your chalices wisely.”_ The voice finished. The Doctor cursed in Gallifreyan. He had not been listening.

“Right, Doctor, do you know?” Joey asked, as he was well-aware of the Doctor’s skill for absorbing and remembering information.

“Er – no, got distracted.”

“What could you have possibly been distracted by?” Gabbie cried. It was evident that the others had been relying on him.

“Well, my mate just died, that’s one thing.”

“What?”

“Arthur. I knew Arthur.”

“Oh.” There was an uncomfortable silence. “Well, I suppose it’s a guessing game now.”

The eight of them sat down. It was random. No one had a clue. Well, they said no one, but the Doctor could tell that Colleen had been paying more attention that anyone seemed to think.

The Doctor drank a sip, then gagged, letting it fall out of his mouth and back into the chalice. 

Without warning, two chalices lit red. The owners: Alex and Tana.

Tana panicked for a minute, paused, then brought the chalice back to her lips. “I mean, it tasted good, though.”

“You’re still drinking?” Joey cried in disbelief, “It’s cursed!”

“It’s too late now!” Tana said, taking another drink. “I’m gonna need it.”

Suddenly, a chest jumped open. The Doctor made his way over, and inside was a map.

 _“Speak the chant before the stones.”_ He read. 

“We didn’t get a chant yet, right?” Gabbie asked.

“Not yet.” Alex said.

“Allons-y!”

The Doctor, Tana, Alex, Bretman, Joey, Colleen, Rosanna, and Gabbie made their way behind the Rotunda to the Britannia Exhibit where Excalibur lay.

“I hope Merlin’s there!” Rosanna called out in excitement as they made their way to the Exhibit. The Doctor let out a snort of laughter.

“What’s so funny.”

“Nothing.” The Doctor denied, and continued to move.

They made their way down a path to where they heard a horse. Upon that horse: The Black Knight. The Doctor cursed in Gallifreyan. This was not what he needed right now.

“Who dares seek the sword, Excalibur?”

“‘Tis I, Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey.” The Doctor called back, hoping his title and status will have reached the Black Knight’s ears. But alas, the Black Knight called back:

“Leave my Kingdom or die!”

“Is there a third option?” Alex asked.

“Did you not hear me?” The knight dismounted, sword in hand. “I shall have your head!”

“Run!” 

The Doctor ran, pelting for the inside, it was only at Gabbie’s screams did he turn around.

“Guys, he caught me!”

“Come on!” Joey grabbed the Doctor, as his hesitation had caused him to fall behind. “We’ll save her later!” 

They ran inside.

Once the Black Knight had left his post, the now party of seven returned to the exhibit where they found the legendary Sword in the Stone.

“Right, we need to get that sword out.” The Doctor said.

“And how do we do that?” Colleen asked.

“Well, it’s easier said than done –”

“We’re running out of time, let’s just take it out.” Colleen said, making her way up to the sword. She began trying to pull the sword out. The Doctor watched patiently. 

“Let me try, I got it.” Joey tried extremely hard to remove the sword, all to no avail.

“What’s the note say?” Alex asked, and it was now that they even looked at the note on the side of the stone.

“It says:” Colleen read, _“Only the true King of Britannia may retrieve the sword. There will not be another for a thousand years.”_

“Right,” The Doctor said, “There’s – er – there’s a spell that can make someone a king.”

“What?”

“Right, we need a wand now, I lost mine years ago…”

“What?”

“Oh! I am so thick! The Collector! I’ll bet anything she took it for the Exhibit…”

“Doctor!” 

“What?”

“What are you talking about?” Colleen asked.

“We need my wand —”

“ _Your_ wand?”

“Oh, right, I’ll explain in a bit –”

“No, you’ll explain now.” Colleen said stubbornly. 

“Yeah, right, fair.” The Doctor said, “Er, the short version, you know the wizard, Merlin?”

“Yes?”

“Well, about, oh, the fifth or sixth century or so, I may have arrived in the Kingdom of Camelot and was mistaken for a wizard, well, I say mistaken. I suppose ‘wizard’ is a broad term –”

“ _You’re Merlin?”_ Rosanna gasped.

“Yep.” The Doctor said, popping the ‘p’. “Now, we need my wand –”

“Right, and where’d you get that, Hogwarts?” Alex rolled his eyes.

“Correct again. Ollivander’s work, the best there is.”

No one could actually tell if the Doctor was lying or not, but decided it was best to just find the wand.

“So, where can we find it?”

“I dunno, but there’s a cave over there, perhaps we ought to take a look?”

They made their way into the cave to find blacklight. The Doctor pulled out the map, only to find that on the back, the light revealed a note:

_“The light of the fae awakens the day. Abolish the stain, dispel the chain.”_

“So this is the chant we have to say!” Rosanna cried.

“Come on.” They made their way back out. 

They stood before the sword, mystical light shone down upon it.

 _“The light of the fae awakens the day.”_ The Doctor recited. _“Abolish the stain, dispel the chain.”_

Suddenly a rock began to shift, revealing a shelf-like function containing the Doctor’s wand and a golden crown.

The Doctor stared at the crown.

“Doctor?” Joey asked.

“That’s Arthur’s crown.” The Doctor said after a long silence. “It shouldn’t be here.” 

“And where should it be?”

“It is said that once Arthur was laid to rest, that his crown was left upon the round table as a reminder of his rule.”

“Okay, and that spell to get the sword out?”

“It’s in a spellbook.”

“Right,” Colleen said, “Do you have that?”

“No. The Collector must have it.”

“Around here?”

“No…No, it’s not here…”

“How do you know?”

“She’s not daft enough to leave it in such close proximity to the wand…”

“So where is it?” Colleen asked, her patience running thin.

“My best guess: The Egyptian Exhibit.”

“Right, I’ll go with Alex and Joey and return the crown,” Colleen suggested, “And you, Bretman, Rosanna, and Tana can go get the spellbook.”

“Brilliant. Allons-y!”

The Doctor, Bretman, Rosanna, and Tana walked into the exhibit cautiously.

As soon as they had all walked in, the doors slammed behind them and a vase hit the ground, shattering. 

The Doctor was examining the broken vase, as Rosanna cried out, “Look at the candles!” The Doctor turned. There were seven, and the first had gone out. Then the second. As the third flickered, the Doctor pointed his wand, something told him they didn’t want these candles to go out. Bretman began to read the note:

_“The Collector built a trap in case Merlin ever attempted to retrieve his spellbook. When the last candle goes out, everything in the room with be incinerated.”_

The Doctor cursed in Gallifreyan. This was _not_ what he needed right now.

It was also evident that the candles had been counter-enchanted with powerful magic, as the Doctor quickly felt his energy seeping out of him. He could not afford to be weakened right now, but it wasn’t like he had another choice.

“Just hurry.” He urged, exertion creeping out of his voice.

Another candle went out, the Doctor went to work trying to prevent the next one. It was too powerful for him. Given time, he knew he stood no chance. But he could slow it down. “Hurry!”

“I found a clue right here!” Rosanna called out. “It’s backwards!”

“Let me see!” Tana called out, making her way over as Rosanna and Bretman struggled to read the backwards lettering. _“In the trees, I take what I want.”_ Tana read out easily. It seemed as though Tana had some hidden skills they didn’t know about. She read the next one: _“I look up at what I have built.”_ And the next:

 _“I feel the pull and am bound to follow.”_

The Doctor’s hands were shaking. He felt weak, drained, but he had to keep trying. The others had begun matching tarot cards to the backwards sayings. He prayed to whatever deity may be hanging around at the moment that they hurried.

Another candle went out. 

After a final switch of cards, a box opened, revealing the spellbook. 

The Doctor released the candles and stumbled towards the door. “Run!”

They ran.

They met up with Colleen, Alex, Joey, and a newly-released Gabbie. “You guys be careful. The Black Knight is so…everywhere. He came in and tried to kill us.”

“Oh! And we have this.” Joey held out a large crystal. The Doctor picked it up in his shaking hands.

“The Guardian Angel Stone.” He breathed. “We need to keep it safe. We can use it later.”

“How do we use it?” Joey asked.

“We place it on the Pendragon symbol. That’ll activate it.”

“Oh my gosh!” Tana suddenly cried. The Doctor spun around to see the Black Knight running towards them. 

“Run!” 

They shut themselves in the lounge and Bretman began to read from the spellbook:

_“The tears of the Lady of the Lake have the power to transform a person into a king. Two must be selected by a vote of the group to return to standing stones and cast a spell.”_

“Who has their names in the voting pile?” Colleen asked, casting an eye around.

“I do,” Tana said, “And so does Alex.”

“Let’s just vote.”

“The first person is:” Mortimer read, “Is Tana.” Tana sighed. “The second is:” Mortimer looked up, “Alex.” 

“Good luck.” Gabbie said halfheartedly to Tana.

Alex and Tana left.

“Well, I wanna say something.” Joey said, “I saw that my pile was moved. Someone here voted for me.” He sounded disbelieving.

The Doctor looked at him, “Joey, we all get voted for. I’ve gotten voted for, you’ve gotten voted for, it happens.”

“But it looked like a lot of people –”

“Joey, look, you’re the reason we’re here. I think you’ve made a few enemies.”

There was a silence. Joey didn’t know what to say. He was clearly used to the Doctor defending him. He was on a new turf now.

“I can’t do this anymore.” The Doctor stood up unexpectedly. “I can’t just stand here anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Joey asked. 

“Right, you can stay or come, but I’m gonna try to save Tana and Alex.”

“What?” 

“I have to try!”

“I’ll come.” Colleen said boldly.

“Me too.” Rosanna said. 

Joey, Gabbie, and Bretman hesitantly agreed to join. They were going to save them. They had to.

The Doctor, Colleen, Rosanna, Joey, Gabbie, and Bretman made their way to the Britannia Exhibit. There, they found Tana and Alex running for their lives from the Black Knight. With a swift blow, he impaled Tana through the middle. 

The Doctor ran after him, his scream loud, but not loud enough to stop the Black Knight from driving the sword through Alex too.

The Doctor’s wand was out. He shot spells at the knight, but his sword seemed to have some mystical power.

The others began attempting to finish the puzzles that Tana and Alex had begun. 

To be honest, the Black Knight was much stronger than the Doctor had expected, not to mention that the Doctor was still drained from the task earlier. He could feel the knight closing the gap between them. He found himself backing up.

“We solved it!” Joey suddenly cried. Colleen sprinted across the exhibit, downing the tears and extracting the sword. 

The Doctor felt the sword drive right between two of his ribs. He gasped, hitting the ground painfully.

As the world went dark, he could vaguely make out Colleen stabbing the Black Knight and the sound of the blowing of a horn.

The Doctor opened his eyes. 

“Rassilon, that hurts.” 

“Doctor!” Rosanna, Joey, Colleen, Gabbie, and Bretman were suddenly above him.

“Hello then.”

“How the hell aren’t you dead, girl?” Bretman asked.

_ Girl? Am I a girl now?  _ The Doctor looked down. Nope. Didn’t regenerate. There was a nasty wound between his ribs, though. It was healing, but even with his superior healing, without a proper healing coma, it would take time. That was one thing they didn’t have.

“Superior healing. I could go into a healing coma, but we don’t really have time for that right now.” There was a silence. “You got the key?”

“Yeah.” Colleen held up the key.

“Right, put it in, then.”

“Are you sure you’re…?” Colleen asked.

“I’m fine. Brilliant even.” The Doctor lied, “We’re running out of time.”

Colleen nodded and placed the key into the lock. 

Suddenly, a small box opened. Inside was a note. The Doctor sat up with a groan as Colleen began to read:

_“The Black Knight has called the gorgon home from her expedition. None of you will ever leave.”_

There was a pause.

“What’s a gorgon?”


	6. The Maze of Terror

The Doctor forced himself into a seated position, propping himself up on the cushions of the couch and began prodding at the wound on his chest. His body was cold, sweaty, and shaky, he felt weak and exhausted. The wound itself was rather nasty, but the others had seemed to have tied some sort of scarf around his torso to keep him from bleeding out, and the wound was mostly-closed anyway thanks to the initial burst of regenerative energy. He wasn’t necessarily in danger of dying, but he would be if he opened the wound again, as his regenerative energy was depleted enough as it was. Taking his mind off this, he explained; “A Gorgon is from Greek Mythology, they’re from the underworld. There were three well-known ones, Stheno the Mighty, Euryale the Far Springer, and Medusa the Queen. They were the daughters of Phorcys and his wife, Ceto.”

“And is there any way to kill these bitches?” Bretman asked.

“We’re not killing anybody.” The Doctor said venomously, but then said, “Medusa was the only one who was mortal, and she was already decapitated by Perseus. From the blood that ran from her neck, sprang her two offspring; Chrysaor and Pegasus, who are both mortal.”

“Okay, but there are no instructions.” Rosanna pointed out, “What are we supposed to do?”

“She’s coming, guys.” Joey said, “I feel like we need to hide or something.”

Suddenly, the Gorgon walked through the door.

“Run!”

“Hide!”

The six of them hovered in the back corner, they had nowhere to go.

“What have you done to the museum?” She demanded. 

“Well, she’s not Chrysaor or Pegasus.” The Doctor determined.

Without warning, the Sorceress charged, but the Gorgon easily slammed her into the wall.

“Run!” The Doctor shouted, forcing himself up too quickly. He stumbled, grabbing at the wall as his chest exploded in pain. Rosanna and Colleen were immediately by his side, hooking their arms under his own and practically dragging him out of the room. It was a bit difficult because of the height difference, but they did make it into the Egyption Exhibit, bolting the doors shut so they were safe. Rosanna and Colleen dropped the Doctor on the floor against the wall.

“What the hell?” Colleen breathed, walking away and back, equally concerned and disbelieving.

“Doctor, you said you were okay!” Rosanna cried out. 

“I am,” The Doctor lied again, he was shaking, covered in sweat, and breathing heavily. “Really, I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you  _ sure  _ looked fine back there.” Joey said sarcastically.

“It doesn’t matter, I don’t have time not to be fine!” The Doctor bit back, although he lost a bit of his fierceness, as he was still on the floor, shaking. 

“Woah.” Rosanna was suddenly staring at his torso, “What is that?” The Doctor looked down, a golden mist was shimmering around his wound.

“It’s regenerative energy.” The Doctor explained. “See, healing.”

Joey helped the Doctor up, “Someone check the keyhole and make sure she’s not there anymore.”

Gabbie looked through. “She’s gone.”

“Brilliant.”

They opened the door and began to make their way back to the lounge. “So, you said she’s not Chrysaor or Pegasus?” 

“Well, one of them is a horse with wings and the other is either a giant or a boar with wings, I thought it was the logical conclusion.”

“So it’s one of Medusa’s sisters?”

“Most likely, yes.”

“Right, of course it’s one of the immortal ones.” Colleen sighed.

“No!” They entered the lounge only to find the Sorceress standing beside a stone statue: Mortimer.

“He got turned into stone.” Joey gasped.

“I will gouge her eyes out for this.” The Sorceress spat. “Mark my words!”

“If this can happen to him, it can happen to any of us.” Joey pointed out.

“Okay, okay…” The Doctor looked around, trying to keep a level head. “Right, we need to use the Guardian Angel Stone.”  
“What?”

“There,” The Doctor pointed at a box with the Pendragon crest. He placed the stone on the symbol.

There was an explosion of blue light, and through the door walked Mat. He smiled confidently, that was until he saw the Doctor.

“Hey, Doctor, you alright?” He made his way to the Doctor’s side, as Joey was holding up most of his weight.

“Fine, brilliant.” The Doctor said, a smile on his face. He embraced the man, letting out a groan as his chest collided not-so-smoothly with Mat’s. Mat helped him on the couch, an eyebrow raised.  
“Clearly.”

“He got stabbed.” Rosanna said, running to embrace Mat, who lifted her off her feet in a hug. 

“Stabbed?”

“Yeah, there was this black knight –”

“Again, I’m fine.” The Doctor interrupted, “Right now there’s a Gorgon coming after us –”

“Like, from Greek Mythology?” Mat asked.

“Yes, you’re brilliant, you are. How much do you know about them?”

“If you showed a mirror to a Gorgon, it would reflect their vision back at them, right?”

“In theory.” The Doctor said, trying to push himself into a straighter seated position and removing the spellbook from his pocket.

“How the hell did that fit in there?” Bretman asked.

“They’re bigger on the inside.” The Doctor grinned and began flipping pages, trying to find something that could help. Inside of it, he found a note.  _ “It is believed Athena’s mirror shield –”  _ Mat jumped up in victory.  _ “– could turn her deadly stare back upon her.” _

“Right, that’ll be this, then.” The Doctor attempted to stand up again, this time with more success, but Mat wrapped an arm around his waist and helped him up.

“Will you stop doing that?” Colleen said, despite her frustration, she seemed genuinely concerned.

Gabbie picked up the object the Doctor had gestured to. It was a large ancient greek shield that looked polished to the point that it had a clear reflection.

“This was given to Perseus – the one who killed Medusa – by Athena.” The Doctor explained. It came with the note, so Joey began to read:

_ “The bearer of the shield must stand toe to toe with the Gorgon to reflect her gaze. You’ll find her in the Garden of Statues.” _

“Should we just pick someone randomly?” Colleen suggested.

“I’ll –” The Doctor began, but Colleen cut him off.

“To hell if you think we’re gonna let you do that. Look at yourself, you can’t even stand on your own –” The Doctor opened his mouth to argue. “– And don’t you bother with this whole, ‘I’ve got alien powers’ and ‘I’m totally fine’ bullcrap. You’re about to fall over as it is! Just for once in your life look at yourself and realize that you don’t have to play the hero all the time!” The Doctor shut his mouth. Joey looked shocked at Colleen’s outburst. Bretman and Gabbie looked amused, Rosanna clearly agreed, and Mat looked smug.

“Fine.” The Doctor reluctantly agreed.

“I’ll do it.” Gabbie said confidently, grabbing the shield.

They made their way to the Greek Exhibit, the Doctor supported by Mat, whilst they babbled on about Greek Mythology – well, the Doctor babbled on. Mat listened intently, soaking up every word.

The Greek Exhibit was filled with beautiful stone statues. The Doctor had no doubt in his mind that these had all once been humans.

The Doctor, Bretman, Joey, Colleen, Rosanna, and Mat stood at the top of the stairs as Gabbie walked down to where the Gorgon was admiring the statues, presumably her work. She snuck up right behind her, and cried out, “Hey, Gorgon!”

The Gorgon turned, stared into the mirror, than let out a laugh. Gabbie began to back up, she hadn’t expected that.

“It’s just a myth, you fool.”

“Gabbie, run!” The Doctor shouted. Gabbie turned and ran, but from the other direction, a large Minotaur came running up, grabbing her and carrying her off, dropping the shield in the process.

“Take them to the maze.” The Gorgon cackled.

“She has the key!” Gabbie cried. “She has the key!”

The moment they were gone, the Doctor once again attempted to make his way over on his own, only for his chest to explode with pain and to stumble, reflexively grabbing back onto Mat, who stumbled too, but managed to pull them both upright.

“You need to stop doing that.” 

The Doctor grunted in pain and acknowledgement. He began to cough, blood splattering his sleeve.

“Doctor?” Mat asked nervously.

“It’s nothing.” The Doctor said, his grip unconsciously tightening around Mat.

The six of them made their way down the stairs into the Gorgon’s lair where they found a note. Joey picked it up and began to read:

_ “The Grogon cannot be slain by a human, only by a beast. Poseidon created the Minotaur and his medallion has the power to control it. It has been broken into three pieces: The first lies in the Gorgon’s lair, and the second in the minotaur's maze. None have ever made it out alive.” _

“Oh, that’s promising.” Colleen said.

“Right, half of us go to the maze, the other half stays in the lair.” The Doctor said.

“Right, Joey and Colleen stay here with me.” Bretman said. “Rosanna, Mat, and the Doctor can go to the maze.”

“Do you think that’s such a good idea –” Mat began, giving the Doctor a nervous glance.

“That sounds brilliant.” The Doctor cut in, “Allons-y!” 

The Doctor, Rosanna, and Mat made their way to the maze (going down the hill was difficult, but they still managed to make it).

The maze was large and formed of finely-cut bushes. At the front, there was a large gate with a plaque. Mat read:

_ “Finding the center –” _

“Mat?” Gabbie’s voice called from inside the maze.

“It’s okay, we’re gonna get you out!” The Doctor called back to her. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just chained up.”

“Right, we’re on our way!”

_ “Finding the center of the maze requires solving the Minotaur’s three riddles.”  _ Mat read.  _ “Look around carefully, as the answer to each riddle will be an object also found in the maze. Only one may enter at a time, and if you are caught by the Minotaur before reaching the center, the light of Zeus will shine and the next person must enter.” _

“Right, I’ll go first.” The Doctor said, and before Mat could protest, the Doctor added, “We both know that if I collapse, I won’t be help to anyone. I can’t be our last chance.”

“Fine.”

“Right, wish me luck.” The Doctor pushed his way into the maze. He stumbled around a bit, his body wasn’t prepared for this yet. He grabbed onto the fragile branches of the shrubbery until he made it to the small table of objects. 

“What’s happening?” Gabbie called from within the maze.

“We’re solving riddles to try to get to you!” The Doctor answered. His breathing was labored and his wound was agonizing. He coughed again, blood splattering his sleeve, his whole weight was pressing on the table.

“You doing all right?” Mat called anxiously from outside the maze.

“Peachy!” The Doctor bit back.

The Doctor managed to force himself off the table of objects and onto the gate, where he flipped the sign to reveal the riddle. 

_ I have a head, a tail, but no body. _

“Easy.” The Doctor let out a breath of relief, returning to the table to grab the coin. “A coin.” He breathed at the gate. It clicked open and he stumbled through it. His whole body was shaking and it was then that his knees buckled and he hit the ground, clutching his wound, cursing in Gallifreyan.

The Doctor opened his eyes. He hadn’t realized he had closed them. He was shaking terribly and his chest burned. He groaned and tried to sit up. He was chained by his wrists and ankles and on the ground outside.

“Doctor? Doctor, are you okay?” Rosanna was above him.

“Hmm? Yeah, brilliant.” The Doctor groaned as Rosanna helped him sit up. He was at the center of the maze, chained up with Rosanna and Gabbie. “Where’s Mat?”  
“Solving the last riddle.” 

“An anchor!” Mat called in the distance, as if summoned and there was the click of the gate.

“Doctor, are you sure –”

“I have to be.” The Doctor said as Mat came bursting in through the bushes, breathing heavily from out-running the Minotaur.

“Look, there’s something right there!” Gabbie called, pointing to a note that Mat immediately grabbed and began to read:

_ “You must make a choice before claiming a portion of the medallion. Someone must pay the price for those who failed in the maze. To release your friends, either your name must go in the voting pile, or theirs. If you offer up your friends, you’ll be given immunity. Will you be a hero or a coward?” _

There was a sickening silence.

“Easy.” Mat said, “My name goes in.”

“Mat –” The Doctor began, but Mat silenced him. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

A chest beside them popped open. Mat grabbed the keys and began to unlock the chains around the Doctor, Rosanna, and Gabbie. He helped the Doctor to his feet and they made their way out of the maze.

As the Doctor, Mat, Rosanna, and Gabbie exited the maze, they saw Bretman, Joey, and Colleen coming down the hill alongside the Sorceress.

“We saved Gabbie!” Rosanna called as they met up.

“That’s great.” Colleen said, “And we got a piece of the medallion.”

“So did we.” Mat said, revealing their third of the medallion.

“We have this note.” Joey said, and began to read:  _ “To claim the final piece of the medallion, build a monument to Poseidon from the pieces hidden throughout the maze. You must pick a teammate to search the maze for the pieces you’ll use. The first to complete their monument will receive the medallion while the other will be torn to pieces. Watch your back, the Minotaur will be roaming the maze.” _

“Right, time to vote, then.”

The Doctor stepped up to vote first. To be perfectly honest, he already knew he was going in. He wasn’t help to anyone like this. He picked his own name.

“The first to go in,” The Sorceress read, sounding bored, “The Doctor.” The Doctor nodded, he had been expecting this. “The second: Gabbie.”

Gabbie looked smug. She knew she could win this.

“Doctor, who do you want to find pieces for you?”

“Mat.”

Mat smiled sadly, “The Dream Team, back together again. We won once, we can do it again.”

“Yes, well, in fairness, I didn’t have a stab-wound back then.”

“Gabbie?”

“I pick Colleen.”

“Good choice.” Colleen grinned.

“Allons-y.” The Doctor said half-heartedly.

The Doctor, Mat, Gabbie, and Colleen made their way into the center of the maze where the challenge began. Mat and Colleen had to search the maze for pieces, and the Doctor and Gabbie were responsible for putting them together.

“Go!”

The Doctor propped himself on the table as they waited. 

Gabbie got her bag of pieces first. The Doctor waited patiently, but he was getting concerned, not that he’d lose, he was already aware that was inevitable, but that the Minotaur had gotten Mat.

Before Gabbie had gotten her second bag, Mat came sprinting back carrying all the bags. “Here, I’m gonna check and make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

“Brilliant.” The Doctor continued to lean on the table, begging his knees not to collapse. He pressed his weight onto the table with his left side as he began to build with his right.

The Doctor began to build, his hand moving like it had a mind of its own. He had solved millions of puzzles in his time, so that was not the difficult part, the difficult part was the fact that his hands were shaking furiously and his chest felt like it was on fire.

Fingers flew in and out of the bags, clumsily assembling the monument.

Gabbie had all her bags now and was desperately trying to catch up with the Doctor, but even with his injuries he had assembled too many puzzles (3D, 4D, 12D, it didn’t matter. He’d built thousands of each) in his life to lose now.

The Doctor placed the final piece, but dropped to his knees as he began to cough, blood coating the ground. 

“Doctor!” Mat was by his side, holding him carefully so that he expelled the blood properly and didn’t fall into it. 

“The medallion.” The Doctor gasped, “Quick.” 

Mat grabbed the final piece of the medallion, forcing the three pieces together as the Doctor threw himself at Gabbie in hopes of protecting her from the Minotaur long enough for Mat to take control. 

The Doctor felt the Minotaur grab his sides, lift the Time Lord above his head, and threw the Doctor. He hit the ground hard, gasping in pain.

He heard screaming faintly in the background as his vision began to fade, but he must be dreaming. It must be a nightmare. But no, he never witnessed this death the first time around. How could he remember something he wasn’t there for? But he could of sworn those screams belonged to –

“Colleen?”

The Doctor opened his eyes – he seemed to be doing that a lot lately… He was back on the couch.

“Doctor?”

Above him was Mat, Rosanna, Joey, and Bretman.

“Colleen?” He looked up, his eyes begging them to tell him she was fine. She had to be.

“I’m sorry, Doctor.”

“No…” He breathed. “NO!” Tears fell from his eyes but he didn’t care.

“Doctor, please be careful,” Rosanna begged, “The Minotaur split open your –”

But the Doctor pushed her off him forcefully, pushing himself off the couch and relishing in the pain. 

He took the key Mat was holding, stood up, and felt the pain envelop his body. He felt everything. It burned. He burned. And it was good.

The Doctor began to move, one foot in front of the other, walking to the lock and shoving the key in.

“This is him… The one you warned us about.” Mat breathed in realization.

“Who?” Rosanna, Joey, and Bretman were staring at him.

“The Oncoming Storm.”


	7. The Genie's Lamp

There was silence. The Doctor didn’t dare break it. He walked over to the table, where he found a small oil lamp, underneath which was a note:

_ “Secrets lie inside the lamp. Sing the song of Arabia to find the way.” _

“What’s the lyric?” Bretman asked, looking around.

The Doctor hesitated, he wasn’t sure, but if there was one thing history tended to agree upon, it was that to summon a Genie, you had to rub the lamp. So the Doctor rubbed it, and there was suddenly a musical tune on the piano.

“Do we have to play that song back?” Joey asked.

“Why don’t we just hum it together?” Rosanna suggested.

“That sounds as good an idea as any.” Mat said.

The Doctor rubbed the lamp again and the song played again, this time the Doctor, Bretman, Joey, Rosanna, and Mat hummed along.

As they finished, a box jumped open. Inside was a note, Joey read:

_ “The Genie of the lamp has one of the Jeweled Keys, but getting it will require more trickery than all of Ali Baba’s thieves. Place the lamp on the symbol of the djinn on the second floor to learn more.” _

“We haven’t been to the second floor yet, have we?” Rosanna asked.

“Not yet, no.” The Doctor confirmed, grabbing the lamp and leading the way. The burst of adrenaline was beginning to wear off now, the anger dying down as they continued, and he could feel his legs getting heavier and the pain intensifying. He could take it, couldn’t he? As they made it to the stairs, the Doctor made sure he was at the back, but he saw Mat slipping beside him.

“You good?” Mat whispered. The Doctor nodded, but it was then that he realized he was breathing quickly and unevenly. Mat asked no more questions and snuck an arm under the Doctor’s so as to give him something to hold up some of his weight.

The Doctor smiled gratefully and hoped that it was enough to express his gratitude.

The Doctor, Bretman, Joey, Rosanna, and Mat made their way up the stairs and down the hallway to where they found the mark of the djinn on a table connected to the wall. Mat placed the lamp on the mark and the table swung open to reveal a hidden passage in the wall.

“Come on, then.” 

The Doctor and Mat were the first ones in, as Mat was silently helping the Doctor. They crawled a ways, which was increasingly difficult, but the Doctor continued to send adrenaline through his body. Where it was true that the Doctor could control it, he often chose not to, as it could damage his blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and elevate the risk for heart attacks, or stroke. He was not often willing to take that risk, but right now, he already had so much adrenaline at such an uneven consistency that it was a chance he was willing to take. 

The tunnel widened and the Doctor could stand again. He hushed the others behind him as he saw a figure standing, facing the wall. They filed in.

“Hello?” The Doctor called. 

The figure turned, “Do you come to torment me in my chains?” The figure had pasty-blue skin and dark features. He was a djinn. And this djinn was chained up.

“No.” The Doctor said quickly. “We mean not torment you, but we need a jeweled key.”

“It is not enough that Scheherazade has enslaved me, but now you want my most prized possession.” He flashed the jeweled key that was wrapped around his neck.

“What if we could give you something of greater value?” The Doctor suggested.

“What will you trade?”

“What do you want?”

“My freedom.” The Doctor nodded.

“So we need just unlock your chains?”

“You must find the Hammer of Suleiman in the Arabian Exhibit.” The djinn said, “It is the only thing that will break my bonds. In exchange, I will give you the key and the wish for your sorrows to come.”

“Deal.” The Doctor said.

“For you to return, you must shatter the ebony horse and find the hammer.” He gestured to the side where the curtains parted. “Arabia will not wait forever.”

The five of them walked out to where the Arabian Exhibit was. It was covered in tents and carts of fabric.

Women began walking towards them, they each wore a complete badlah. They began to dance, many accumulating by the Doctor and Mat, but the Doctor couldn’t tell if they just had their – er – preferences, or if they were picking out the weakest one.

Joey, Rosanna, and Bretman seemed confused. Mat looked slightly terrified, he seemed unsure where to look. 

The women led the five of them up to a stage where they continued to dance, now more choreographed and synchronized. 

Suddenly, a strong man with a sword pulled a beautiful woman out onto the stage. He pushed her, and it was now evident that her hands were tied together.

“The czar will have you executed for your betrayal, witch.” The man growled.

“I will gladly cut out his eyes for what he’s done to my family!” The woman kicked him in the knee. The man grabbed her, holding his sword to her throat.

“I wouldn’t speak such things if I were you.”

There was a shout and a new man suddenly slammed the butt of his sword into the first man’s shoulder blades. He hit the ground. The new man gave a bow – it was a play.

“My love!” The woman, now released from her bonds, grabbed the man’s hand and pulled him beside her. “I thought you were dead.”

“Not even the ghouls of the night could stop me.”

“With love only comes loss!” The first man was back on his feet and theatre-stabbed the new man who fell to the ground. “I move your execution forward, witch!”

“No!” The woman screamed, falling to her knees with her hands above her head to protect it.

Suddenly, the stage froze and a woman emerged from behind the curtain behind them. She moved forwards slowly, a quill feather pen in hand.

“Welcome to Arabia.” She swept the quill around. “I am her storyteller, Scheherazade. And I wonder what yours will be. A comedy, a farce, or a tragedy.” She smiled. “What brings you to our mystical land?”

“We seek the Hammer of Suleiman.” The Doctor called back.

“Of course,” Scheherazade continued to pace the stage. “Suleiman’s mighty hammer. That is quite the request. But first, one of you must come to the stage. I have the perfect role for you.” She pointed directly at Bretman.

“Okay…” Bretman joined Scheherazade on the stage.

“This is a scene of betrayal.” Scheherazade explained. “You are in love with Morgiana, and have stolen away with her by moonlight, despite the czar’s warnings. Begin!” 

A woman ran towards him, wrapping her arms around Bretman’s torso. “I think we are finally safe!” She cried. “Where do you plan to take me?”

Bretman looked incredibly uncomfortable. “You got the wrong one, sis. I don’t play for this team.”

“You have to play along!” Joey called to him in frustration.

“Maybe I can change your mind.” The woman twirled around. Bretman rolled his eyes, but played along.

“Oh, yeah.” He held her hands in his. “I’m so in love with you.”

“Where do you plan to take me?”

“Anywhere, mama.” Bretman said, kissing her hand.

Suddenly, the first man was back on the stage, he seemed to be searching for something.

“The czar’s assassin has found us!” The woman explained. “Save me!”

“And then, the surprise twist!” Scheherazade suddenly called from beside the stage.

The woman suddenly took off her veil to reveal a cracked, bloody, and famished mouth. “It’s time to feast!”

Suddenly, all the women around them also removed their veils to reveal the same thing.

“Run!” 

They tried to run, but there wasn’t anywhere to go, they already were surrounded. They found themselves tied up on a pole in a tent.

Scheherazade burst through the curtains. “The Collector will be so grateful.” She purred, walking around the five of them, all tied to the pole. “I saved her latest exhibit from getting away.” She walked up to the Doctor, “But you don’t belong in a museum.”

“I belong in a museum more than you know.”

“And what could that possibly mean?”

“I’ll cut you a deal.” The Doctor said, “I’ll tell you a story, a story unlike any other you’ve ever heard, and you let us go.”

“Intriguing.” 

“Is that a yes?”

“Your deal sounds fair.”

“I need your word.” 

“Then you have it. Now tell your tale.”

“It starts nine hundred years ago and a billion light years away on a planet called Gallifrey, where there was a young boy. This young boy had a family, a friend named Koschei, and a life until he was forced to fight in a war, a war the size of a galaxy. This war stretched on and on until the boy hear rumors of what his species was planning. They wanted to destroy the universe to win the war, so the boy he destroyed the planet.” The Doctor took a breath. “To run from what he’d done, the boy took his granddaughter and stole a box that traveled through time and space. They traveled the universe, but the granddaughter soon chose to settle down and have a family, so the boy was left all alone. The boy, in his loneliness began to find humans to travel with him, but they never stayed long. One day, in his travels, the boy found the most beautiful Rose he had ever seen. Rose was not a flower, but a young girl. She promised she would stay forever. So the boy took her to see the stars and they fell in love.” The Doctor took another breath, holding back the tears from his eyes. “The boy and his Rose traveled together for a long time until there was a crack in time and space. Together, they sealed it, but in doing so left the boy on one side and his Rose on the other.” Scheherazade looked fascinated, immersed within the story. “The boy was left alone once more. He found a human to travel with him, hoping to fill the hole that his Rose had left, and it was there that he learned that his old friend, Koschei, had survived. But Koschei didn’t want to travel with the boy, he wanted the time and space box all to himself and so betrayed the boy to get it and attempted to claim the Earth as his own.” The Doctor was well aware that he was tweaking, editing, and cutting some – well, most – events in his life, but he wanted to tell a good story because that’s what would set them free. And what a good story needs is a good ending. “The boy tried to stop him, for he did not want the Earth under Koschei’s reign, but Koschei got shot, and chose to die in the boy’s arms, ending the Earth of his reign.” 

Scheherazade seemed incredibly pleased with such a story. “Such loss! Such pain! That will make a wondrous tale.”

“And now you’ll let us go?”

Scheherazade cackled. “No!”

“We made a deal, you gave me your word!”

“I lied.”

Then, the lover from the play suddenly ran into the tent, slamming into the first man, knocking him to the ground and stabbing him, sending everyone in the tent scattering.

He untied the five of them and gestured to the tent’s exit.

“Okay, come on, come on, come on.”

“Wait, who the heck are you?” Joey called as they ran. 

It was here that the Doctor found himself coughing up blood again.

“Doctor, I thought you were good!” Rosanna cried.

“I am fine. Now, we have to keep moving.” The Doctor pushed forwards, Mat raised an eyebrow in doubt.

“Okay, you.” Joey said as they were ushered into a new tent, pointing at the lover. But he ran into the arms of his lover, who entered the tent and pressed his lips against hers. 

“Forbidden love?” Bretman asked. 

“I’m Sinbad,” The man said, “this is Fatima.” He looked the woman in her eyes. “Scheherazade has ruined my story and taken my true love from me.”

“We also are against Scheherazade.” Joey said.

“Right, we need to find the Hammer of Suleiman and the Ebony Horse.” The Doctor explained.

“The Ebony Horse is with her brother in the kebab tent.” Sinbad said.

“Let’s go get it, then.” Joey said.

“Ah, ah.” Sinbad said, “Scheherazade has used the Ring of Ma’Ruf to bury the hammer. Only the spirits can help you.”

“Where do we find the spirits?” 

Fatima threw the cloth off of the table to reveal a crystal ball and a note.

“You have to split up, okay?” Fatima said.

“I need one of you to come with me and distract the thieves.”

“I’m small and fast, I can do it.” Rosanna suggested, and she and Sinbad left the tent.

“The Doctor and I will head to the kebab tent.” Mat suggested, and the two of them made their way out. Inside the tent, there was a note. The Doctor began to read:

_ “Scheherazade’s brother prided himself on making the hottest curries in Arabia and promised a reward for anyone who could handle the what. Chose a person to eat a falafel. Then, the next person eats the following one. Watch out, each bowl will get even hotter. If you need to vomit, please step outside. For each bowl you can’t eat, your name is placed in the voting pile.” _

“Oh, easy.” The Doctor said, “Human spices don’t even get close to most spices in the universe.”

“So, you’re good to just…?”

“We have to alternate, I’ll take the hottest five, you do the mildest.”

“Awesome.”

The Doctor removed the top to reveal ten falafel, each marked with a level of intensity. The Doctor started with the hottest one. It really wasn’t that bad. It wasn't his personal preference, but even on Gallifrey this would have been nothing.

Mat, on the other hand, did not fare as well. The first two weren’t bad, but as he got to the third one, he started to struggle. By the fourth, he was gagging, but still managed to swallow it.

As Mat finished his fifth falafel, a box behind them popped open. Mat left the Doctor to lean on the table as he grabbed the contents.

“We got the ebony horse!”

“Brilliant.”

The Doctor and Mat made their way outside to meet up with the others. 

“I got the ring.” Joey held up the ring.

“We got the horse.” Mat said. Joey held up a note.

“This says that we need to stand in the center of the square and raise the ring to the sky.”

“And it’s going to show us the location of where the hammer is.” Bretman said.

“I say we just go to the center and raise the ring.” Joey said.

They only took a few steps towards the center before Sinbad suddenly came running out, he seemed to be in a sword fight with another man. Metal clinked against metal as they fought. 

Suddenly, one false move from Sinbad, and the other man impaled him through the chest, the sword sticking out the other end. But with his last moments, with the other man’s guard down, Sinbad sliced the other man’s head off. They both hit the ground, dead.

“No!” Fatima came sprinting out, falling to the ground beside her lover’s body. 

“I’m so sorry.” The Doctor breathed.

Joey ran to the center and raised the ring in the sky. A drawer under the stage jumped open. Inside was the hammer.

Suddenly, Scheherazade came running from behind the curtain and grabbed the hammer.

“No!” 

“That’s not how your story ends.” They found themselves surrounded again. “You won’t get the hammer, but I will let you leave Arabia. Two of you must be chosen by vote to try and complete my latest story. The one who can will live, and the other will not. Like I said, your tale is a tragedy.”

The Doctor sat down beside Mat as the Sorceress, who had joined them as they unlocked the hammer, spoke:

“The first is Bretman. The second: Joey.”

“Let’s go.”

“Doctor, how are you holding up?” Mat asked as Joey and Bretman prepared.

“Well, I do have a stab wound in my chest.”

“Yeah, and you are internally bleeding.”

“I’m healing.”

“Not quickly.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You keep saying that and you keep not being fine.” Mat pointed out. “How are you even still on you feet?”

“Adrenaline.” The Doctor said simply.

“You mean, you can control it?”

“Of course.” The Doctor said, affronted.

“But, if you’re only on your feet because you keep pumping yourself full of adrenaline, won’t that mess up your body? You know, blood pressure and blood vessels and all that.”

“Mat, sometimes I think you’re too clever for your own good.” The Doctor sighed. “Yeah, it can cause some…unpleasant effects. But I don’t have a choice. Not now. I’ll go into a healing coma when – if – I make it back to the TARDIS.”

“You will. We did it once before, we can do it again.” 

“Now it’s time to vote for which story was the worst.” The Doctor looked up. He had not been paying attention. “Raise your hands, his?” Scheherazade placed a hand on Joey. No one raised their hand.

“Or him?” Rosanna, the Doctor, and Mat all raised their hands.

“I’m sorry Bretman.”

“Ooh!” Scheherazade laughed. “Fatima, write his name in the story.”

Fatima leaned down and signed a name on the blank, but it wasn’t Bretman’s. It was Scheherazade’s.

“You wrote my name?” Scheherazade cried out in fury. “What have you done?”

“That’s for killing my true love!” Joey and Bretman ran off the stage as the women began to attack Scheherazade, but not before Scheherazade could grab Bretman, taking him down with her. The Doctor attempted to run towards him, to try to pull him out. 

“Doctor, we have to go!” Mat pulled him back the way they came, Joey grabbing the Hammer as they went, smashing the Ebony Horse into the ground and ran towards the exit.

As they re-entered the genie’s tent, they found the djinn, waiting patiently. “You found the Hammer.”

“Free me.”

“You promise you’ll give us a wish and you’ll give us that key, right?” Joey asked.

“I am a man of my word. I will give you the key.” The djinn said, “Break the chains.”

Joey let out a cry and slammed the Hammer onto the chains. They snapped, and the genie was free.

“Give us the key.” Joey demanded.

“You may have the key.” The djinn handed over the key.

“And what about the wish?”

“Yes, but I know better than to leave it open-ended.” He said, “I will return one of your friends from the dead.” They gasped. “Who do you wish to bring back?”

“Who should we bring back?” Joey asked.

“I think we know.”

“Yeah.”

“What is your choice?” The djinn asked impatiently.

The Doctor opened his mouth, and said the name.


	8. Cursed Treasure

The Doctor, Joey, Rosanna, and Mat made their way back to the lounge. 

“Come on, let’s put the key in.” Mat said, pushing they key into the lock. There was a pause. That fateful hesitation before the next part of the adventure was to begin. 

Suddenly, a pirate’s flag dropped from the ceiling, a gunshot rang out, and three pirates came running in, screaming, pointing guns and swords.

“Round them up!” The captain ordered.

“Run!” The four of them ran, gunshots firing behind them, hiding behind pillars and curtains.”

“I can smell ‘em!” One pirate shouted. “You cowards come out and fight!”

“Where are you? Show yourself!” Another demanded.

“They are working for that traitorous bitch!” The captain determined. “I see one of them out there! Come on!” And then they were gone.

The four of them slowly emerged from their hiding spots, looking around nervously. Finally, all seemed calm. 

“Oh my – You guys, help me, please!”

“Colleen!” Colleen was being dragged in by another pirate, knife to her throat. Although, this pirate also looked much like a captain. Multiple ships perhaps?

“Back up!” The captain shouted, “I swear I’ll cut her throat!” The Doctor, Joey, Rosanna, and Mat backed up.

“You guys, do something, please!” Colleen cried.

“It’s okay, stay calm!” The Doctor shouted, quieting the room. “What is it that you want from us?”

“Are you working for Rorik?” The captain demanded.

“Rorik?”

“Who’s Rorik?” The Doctor inquired.

“Tall,” The captain described, “Terribly handsome.” 

“He was just here!” Joey was the first to cry out. 

“You’re working for him!” The captain cried out. “Who is the captain?”

Everyone looked at the Doctor, and he therefore made his way forwards. “I’m captain.”

“You’re not working with Rorik?” The captain asked.

“No.”

“I need you to swear an oath.” The captain spit in two of her fingers. “I swear on a pirate’s boat. If I change my words, then I’ll cut her throat.”

The Doctor spit in his fingers, “I swear on a pirate’s boat. If I change my words, then I’ll cut her throat.” The Doctor repeated.

The captain pushed Colleen into the Doctor, who stumbled back into Joey, who caught the both of them.

“As a mark of this truce,” The captain said, taking Colleen’s hand, “I give you this pirate’s ring.” She bestowed the ring on Colleen’s finger.

“What is that?” Joey asked.

“Yeah, I’m really confused,” Colleen said, “I was dead, and then there was a genie and then there was a smoke, and then there was a pirate bitch who tried to kill me. I don’t know why she’s still here, can we make her leave?” 

“Right, we had one wish to bring one of our friends back, and we chose you.” The Doctor explained. 

“So, you brought me back to the place where I can die again?”

“Listen,” The Doctor sighed, “I know it’s hard and I know it feels like you’re in this constant cycle of life and death, but I promise you, it won’t last forever. I’m going to get you out of here. I promise.”

“Is that a promise you can keep?”

“Rorik is looking for this.” The captain showed off a letter as well as a picture of a key.

“We need that key.” The Doctor said, “If we help you find the treasure, will you give us the key?”

“Yes.”

“Brilliant.” The Doctor spat in his two fingers and the captain matched it.

“Follow me this way.” The captain led the way and the others followed. They hurried after her outside, between the Ancient China Exhibit and India Exhibit, and back inside to the Caribbean Exhibit.

“Woah.” Joey was the first one in and gasped, but the captain hushed him.

Inside the exhibit was a pirate’s lounge, and the Doctor looked at the letter with the drawing of the key on it.

_ “Aye, you’ve taken me ship, but you’ll never take me treasure. The map is hidden where no man will ever find it. “ _

“This is where we found it.” The captain knelt on the ground and gestured to a hidden cabinet. 

The Doctor reached in and removed a tiny skull. There was a hole in the back, but not necessarily a keyhole. 

“Look at this!” Mat called, he had pulled aside a ripped curtain to reveal a small metal square on the wall. In the center of this square was a piece that stuck out and looked as though it would fit in the hole of the skull. 

The Doctor placed the skull on the square.

It fit perfectly, but nothing happened.

“Maybe you have to turn it.” Mat suggested, making his way forwards and turning the skull. It jumped back and left a circular hole. Mat put his arm in to see if there was anything in there, when he cried out in surprise, trying to pull his hand out. It had grabbed him. He was stuck.

Suddenly, behind them, something swung from the ceiling, smashing into a candle holder. The Doctor hurried over to examine it. It was a sandbag with a note on it. 

“We’ll have to cut her arm off!” The captain cried. 

“We’re not cutting anyone’s arm off!” The Doctor shot back, grabbing the note as Colleen, Rosanna, and Joey kept the captain from swinging her sword.

_ “You’ve triggered my booby trap. The cabin will fill with poison gas once the last bag falls if you haven’t balanced things out.” _

“The scales!” Colleen cried. 

“I mean, is there any way to get me out of here without cutting off my arm?” The Doctor could hear Mat asking the captain. 

“That’s about the only way I see it, love.” The captain responded carelessly, returning her sword to its sheath.

“We’re not cutting off your arm, Mat!” Rosanna promised.

Underneath the scales, a note said,  _ Points the ship. _

Another bag hit the table.

“Come on!” Joey called, “We’re running out of time!”

“Think, think, think, think, think.” The Doctor said, his head was pounding and he could feel his hearts beating faster. Adrenaline overdose. His body was pumping out too much adrenaline. He tried to reduce the output, but by doing this, he made himself more susceptible to the pain in his chest, but he had to keep on his feet.

“Here’s a compass!” Colleen called, throwing it to Joey.

“You doing all right?” Mat asked, as the Doctor was leaning on a table beside him.

“Fine.”

“Doesn’t look fine.”

“I know.”

“I found the thimble!” Colleen called, Rosanna ran to the next clue and called out:

_ “Stops the grog.”  _

“What the heck is a grog?” Colleen asked.

“It’s like – it’s alcohol.” The Doctor quickly explained.

“We need a cork!” Mat called.

“A cork, like this?” Colleen grabbed one from a bottle on the shelf.

“Brilliant, Colleen!” The Doctor called, forcing himself to the table and to read the final clue.

Another bag hit the ground.

“ _ Holds the shirt.” _

“A wardrobe?” Rosanna suggested.

“A body?” Colleen called.

“A button?” 

“I got one!” Rosanna called, running to the final scale with it.

A large chest behind them opened and inside was a scroll and a note. Rosanna read:

_ “Think you can steal my treasure map? I know better, so I tore it in three and hid my message. You’ll need to spill some grog to find the way.” _

“This is grog, for sure.” Colleen said, holding up a bottle from the shelf.

“Do we need to spill it on this?”

The Doctor sat down, closing his eyes in a desperate attempt to make the pain subside. His vision was beginning to blur.

The moment they poured the grog on the note, there was a click, and Mat was released. On his finger, there was now a pirate’s ring.

“They put a ring on my finger.” Mat said.

“It’s a symbol of bravery and strength.” The Doctor said knowingly.

“Oh.”

“Wait, that’s the same ring they gave me!” Colleen called.

“Look, the note says something on the back where we poured the grog!” Rosanna suddenly called from across the room. She read:

_ “Head to Pirates’ Bay and stack five skulls in a line on each floating dock.” _

“Pirates’ Bay.” The Captain said, “That’s what I was afraid of.” She looked around. “Follow me.”

The Doctor stood up, slightly shaky. Mat helped him up and across the room.

“You’re getting worse.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it.” The Doctor said, attempting to quicken his pace. 

They passed around the Sands of Egypt to the Pirates’ Bay. Floating in the water, were animal skulls.

“Get down, get down!” the captain urged them, as she peered down from the place she hid. “There they are.” She pointed down to where pirates swarmed the grounds, calling to each other, searching.

“There are the docks.” Mat whispered, pointing to the docks floating on the water.

“Which one’s your ex?” Colleen asked, looking down at all the pirates. 

The captain pointed him out, and Joey asked, “What happened between you guys?”

“It’s complicated.” She sighed, clearly not wanting to be on this topic. “Listen, if they leave the dock, we need to make a run for it.”

“Let’s go.”

The six of them hurried across towards the boats, when suddenly, one of the pirates yelled, “Grab the scallywags!” 

“Run!”

The Doctor, well aware that he couldn’t outrun them, decided to serve as a buffer, trying to give the others enough time to get into the boat and into the bay.

The pirates grabbed him, dragging him away towards wherever they planned to keep him prisoner (It wasn’t the first time). Looking back, he saw the others safely in the lake. He let out a breath of relief.

They chained the Doctor up and left, leaving one of their mates to guard him. She prowled around him like a lion, anxiously awaiting the perfect time to pounce.

“Well, hello, then!” 

“Ooh, we got a talker we do.”  
“That’s me, big talker.” The Doctor grinned. “Spent a lot of times ‘round pirates, I have. Bit touchy I’ve found, don’t like being talked back to. Caused me to spend loads of time in chains, nice quality ones you’ve got here, bit harder to break, but I’m sure I’ll figure it out, I always do –”

“You’ve got a big mouth for being tied up, that’s what I think.” The pirate held her sword to the Doctor’s throat, but he didn’t even flinch. “And as soon as Captain comes back, you’re gonna walk the plank.”

“I look forwards to it!” The Doctor grinned.

It didn’t take him long to break the lock, and even less time to convince the pirate that he had the map hidden along the treeline, and she had run to find that.

He searched through the chests around him until he found a note:

_ Hid the piece of the map between coordinates Jezebel has never sailed. _

Beside the note was a sailing ledger. Easy. Using a map he’d found, he managed to track Jezebel’s voyages and found it formed the numbers  _ 2, 1, 7.  _

Sliding that in the combination lock he’d found, the chest opened to find the second treasure map.

“Doctor!” Mat hissed as he, Joey, Rosanna, and Colleen hurried over to him, holding the second part of the map. 

“I got the last part.” The Doctor held it up, “Let’s connect them.”

They placed the three maps together, revealing where in the captain’s quarters it lay.

“I’m coming for you!” Rorik shouted, making his way towards them. “Hands off the map!”

“Bless the lot of you!” The captain cried, shooting a cannon at Rorik’s men in the water. Rorik turned to her.

“Oh, I love you Jezebel, but you’ve betrayed me for the last goddamn time.” Rorik said, approaching his ex. 

“If you loved me, you’d make me your equal.” The captain said.

Swords were out, slamming into each other.

It was like a dance, back and forth, neither managing to conquer the other.

Soon, Jezebel found herself being backed onto the dock.

“Go!” She shouted. The Doctor, grabbed the map and began to run, his breathing short and his knees shaky, Mat by his side.

They burst into the captains’ quarters, laying out the map and beginning to place the objects drawn on the map to their rightful place. 

Jezebel burst through the door, bolting it behind her.

“You’re alive!” Joey cried.

“Yeah, I’m alive. What did you find?” She demanded.

Rosanna placed the last object, and with a bang, part of the wall opened to reveal a large treasure. And at the very top of the treasure: The key.

They cried out in celebration, but it was premature, as the door was suddenly kicked down by none other than Rorik.

“Get your hands off me treasure!” He glanced at his crew. “Boys, shoot these fools and gather my loot!” 

“I demand parley!” Jezebel cried, a white cloth in the air.

“Damn it! Fine.” Rorik dragged Jezebel aside. “You choose which one you take, and I’ll kill the rest.”

“No, don’t kill them, please!”

“I said I’m gonna kill them, one bitch at a time!”

Jezebel suddenly slapped Rorik in the face.

Rorik was stunned for a moment, then roughly grabbed Jezebel’s face and pressed it onto his.

They continued to kiss, Rorik draping Jezebel onto the table. 

After a couple of minutes, Rorik and Jezebel got up and stood before the Doctor, Joey, Colleen, Rosanna, and Mat. 

“Out of the goodness of my black heart,” Rorik finally said, “I’ve decided you can have they key.”

They let out a breath of relief.

“But one of you must die for crossing my path.”

“And the other shoe drops.”

“So, all of you must take the pirate’s test. And the last one through will be shot.” 

The pirate crew laughed.

“Wait!” Rorik cried, pointing at Colleen and Mat, “You two are already pirate worthy.”

“What?”

“You’ve got the rings.”

Mat and Colleen breathed out in relief. 

“Give me the key.” Rorik demanded, and Rosanna reluctantly handed over the key. “We’ll be outside waiting for the rest of ya.”

“Wait, you two don’t have to go in because you have the rings?” Joey asked.

“Yeah.” Mat confirmed. 

“So it’s the three of us.” Joey said. “If it’s what we have to do, it’s what we have to do.”

“Because we have  _ so many  _ alternatives.” The Doctor said, totally done with Joey’s theatrics.

“Good luck.” Mat said.

“No matter what happens to the three of us,” Joey said, “we need to come back and get out of here alive.”

“That  _ is _ the plan.” The Doctor said.

The Doctor, Joey, and Rosanna made their way out to where the pirates waited. 

“Stand next to your barrel.” Rorik commanded.

Joey took the far right, the Doctor took the middle, and Rosanna took the far left.

“It’s time to determine if you’ve got pirate blood in ya.” Rorik said, “You’re gonna roll one barrel from here to there,” He gestured to a table a little ways away. “Take a drink of ale, and roll it right back. Next, you’ll stand yonder,” He pointed his sword at three tables with a small slingshot on it, each by a barrel with a single bottle on it, “And take aim with your slingshot and knock down one bottle. And last, you’ll row to the dock,” He gestured at the dock in the middle of the bay, “and grab a Jolly Rogers and come on back. Go!”

The Doctor began to run. Admittedly, he did have the advantage of control over his adrenaline levels, moving faster, but he was more panicked. That wouldn’t be good for the slingshot, as his hands would be shaking. He chose to only increase his adrenaline slightly for the barrels, he made it to the end, making sure not to look back at the others, as that would surely slow him down. 

He made it to the table first, downing the ale quickly. It was nasty, as alcohol always was, but he drank it anyways, as this was life and death. He made his way back, decreasing his adrenaline as he ran, trying to make sure his hands would be at their steadiest for the slingshot.

Once again, the Doctor was the first one there, but he knew he wouldn’t be in the lead for long if he didn’t get his hands steady.

He shot once. 

Usually, that’s all it took.

Not this time.

He shot again.

Nothing.

By the third time, he managed to hit the barrel. 

Better than nothing.

Joey was suddenly next to him at his table, loading the slingshot. 

The Doctor took his time this time, taking deep breaths and forcing his hands to be as still as he could get them. He aimed carefully, calculating where he should shoot based on the rate his hands were shaking. 

He shot.

The bottle shattered.

“How the hell do these work?” Joey cried, still trying to figure out the old-fashioned slingshots. 

The Doctor upped the adrenaline again and ran (well, mostly stumbled) towards the boat. 

By the time the Doctor’s shaking hands had untied the boat from the dock, another bottle shattered and Joey cheered, followed by another bottle smashing, and Rosanna’s cheer. She may not have been so fast for the barrels, but her good aim was clearly paying off.

The Doctor was first to the dock, grabbing a flag and turning his boat around to make his way back. Joey and Rosanna were right behind him. 

The Doctor was the first to make it back, most likely due to the fact that he had rowed thousands of boats of all kinds, and these did not even compare to some of the harder ones he’d rowed, whereas for Joey and Rosanna, it was more of a struggle.

He forced himself up, the Jolly Roger flag clutched in his fingers. 

“You are definitely pirate worthy.” Rorik praised the Doctor, who gave a thumbs up and dropped to the ground, positioning himself for easier breathing. “You receive the key.” He handed the key to the Doctor.

Suddenly, Joey’s boat hit the shore, he sprinted off and up to the pirates, holding the flag in the air.

“Rosanna!” The Doctor cried out, he found himself on his feet again. “Wait, shoot me instead.” The Doctor pleaded.

“Sorry, love,” Jezebel said, “You’ve already got one wound in your chest, I’m not givin’ ya another.”

A gunshot rang out, and Rosanna dropped into the water. 

“No!” The Doctor’s cry echoed throughout the bay. His breath was speeding up, his body was not ready to cope with such emotional trauma alongside his physical trauma. It couldn’t handle a panic attack right now. His knees were weak, his vision was blurring, spinning, dark. Gone.

The Doctor opened his eyes. He’d only been out for a minute, he could tell because he was still on the cold grass outside.

“Doctor?” Joey called.

“Fine.” The Doctor murmured, “Come on, before they change their minds.”

Joey helped the Doctor back into the lounge.

“No.” Mat breathed, his eyes tearing up. “Ro…”

“Look at this.” Colleen suddenly said, pointing at a note on the wall.

_ The Collector is on her way back. _


	9. Prehistoric Evil

“You doing all right, Doctor?” Mat asked as they prepared to put the last key in the lock. There were two more left, but there were only four guests.

“Fine, fine.”

“How’s the stab wound cleaning up?”

The Doctor removed the scarf from around his torso. The wound had mostly sealed itself, the regeneration energy was curling around the wound. It was looking better, he wasn’t concerned about dying anymore, not from the wound anyways, but it would still be… uncomfortable to say the least.

“It’s healing.” He finally said.

“We ready?” Joey asked.

“As we’ll ever be.”

Joey put the key into the lock.

There was a pause, and the whole room fell into silence.

Without warning, a man, clearly from some sort of prehistoric exhibit, came running into the room. 

He was grunting and moving his body, he had a club in his hand and ran around, thrusting it about.

“What is it?” The Doctor inquired. 

“Help, help.” The caveman grunted. 

“Did he just ask for help?” Mat asked, Joey nodding in equal confusion. 

“What are you talking about?” Colleen cried.

“The both of you have traveled in the TARDIS.” The Doctor explained, “Colleen’s not, so it won’t translate for her.”

“Oh.”

“Follow, follow.” He grunted, and left the room, the Doctor, Joey, Colleen, and Mat in tow.

The caveman led them into the Prehistoric Exhibit. It was a room filled with fossils.

“There’s a note!” Joey called, running over to one of the stands.

_ “The footprints from an era time has forgotten, when matched correctly, can lead you to the beginning of a new civilization.” _

“So we just have to match the four fossil footprints to the dinosaurs they’re from, easy.” The Doctor said, grabbing the first one.

It was large, rounded, with a large surface area. It was clearly for a larger dinosaur.

“Unless I’m mistaken,” The Doctor said thoughtfully, “I believe this is a Karillopholis.”

“That one’s over here!” Mat called.

“You could tell that all from the print?” Colleen asked.

“Well, there are subtle differences in the footprints.” The Doctor explained. “Think about it, how do you distinguish cat footprints from dog footprints?”

“What about this one?” Joey asked, holding the next print. “I think it’s the Freedonrus or whatever it’s called.”

“No, the Fredidonaurus has three toes.” The Doctor said, “I believe this is the Saraptor.”

“This is the Copyldactyl.” Mat said confidently, looking at the other print.”

“How did you know that?” Colleen asked.

“I did a project on it in an archaeology class.”

“Mat, you’re such a nerd.”

“Then this must be the Fredidonaurus.” Mat said, grabbing the last fossil and placing it on the final stand.

Suddenly, a drawer in the middle stand, atop which a skeleton of a dinosaur sat, jumped open and inside was a large egg and a note.

The Doctor read the note:

_ “The Egg of Civilization must be taken to the Sacred Hollow for life to continue in a prehistoric world on the brink of extinction. Venture into the valley of Lost Souls to find the animal totems needed to awaken the Hollow. Be careful, the one who carries the egg will be hunted and passing it back and forth might be the only way to survive. If one of you is caught with it, or fails to protect it, you’ll be forced into the final challenge with no vote.” _

“The Valley of Lost Souls,” The Doctor said, looking at the caveman, “Do you know where that is?”

“Come, come.” The caveman grunted, running outside, the others right behind him.

They followed the caveman into a prehistoric rocky area.

Suddenly, there was a sound behind them. The Doctor spun around, only to find two raptors, sprinting towards them.

“Run!”

The six of them (The Sorceress seemed to be coming and going at this point, which was plenty suspicious) sprinted up and over the hill, losing the raptors in the process.

They came to the caveman’s home. It was dirty and disheveled, but he had paintings up. He handed Colleen a couple bones and some flowers.

“Hey, look at this.” Joey held up a note.

_ “Complete the caveman’s paintings.”  _

They made their way over to the paintings, they were of a natural berry paste, and on animal hide. The figures on the painting both had their arms up, as if together they were holding something. 

“Eat, eat.” The caveman grunted, pointing to the empty space, then back at the egg, “Circle, circle.”

“The egg?”

“Egg.” The caveman repeated.

“Right, then.” The Doctor picked up the brush and painted an egg-shape between their arms.

“What about this one?” Joey asked, moving towards the next painting. It was two people, one holding the egg, and it looked like they were running.

The caveman began to make screeches like a dinosaur.

“An animal? A dinosaur?” The Doctor suggested.

“Big! Big.” The caveman said, jumping up and down. “Teeth, teeth!”

“Pterodactyl?” Joey suggested.

“Flying?” The Doctor simplified, “Wings?”

“No, no.” The caveman grunted. “No wings.”

“Was it like the ones who chased us?” Colleen asked. The Doctor repeated the question so the caveman could understand it. 

“Chase, chase!” The caveman jumped up and down again.

“A raptor?”

Joey began to paint the raptor, it was messy, but it was good enough.

A green light jumped to life behind them. They ran to it.

Under the boulder illuminated by the light, was a note and a strange rod. 

“Right, the note says that we need three animal totems.” Joey said, “And the rod is gonna take us to two of them. The last one, we’ve gotta try to find in the dinosaur’s den.”

“Right, two groups,” The Doctor said, “I’ll take Mat to the dinosaur’s den, Joey and Colleen, you follow the rod.”

“Got it.”

“Allons-y!”

The Doctor and Mat followed the caveman into the dinosaur’s den. They approached the grave of the caveman’s ex love. It was covered in beautiful lilac flowers, as well as a note. The Doctor picked it up, his hands were slightly shaking, his vision somewhat blurring.

“ _ T-the Caveman’s lover – _ ”

_ “–was murdered by the cursed god.” _ Mat finished for him, _ “and her soul is trapped in torment. Release her from her sorrows by completing the burial ritual for her tribe and gain the third totem. Eight of her bones were stolen by the raptors. You must retrieve them from their den and place them upon the burial mound. When they have all been returned, place the Egg of Civilization before her grave.” _

“Right, I’ll take the egg, you find the bones.” The Doctor called, and began to run.

“Doctor!” Mat called, then quickly realized he couldn’t lure the Doctor back, and began to frantically search for bones.

“There’s one here!”

“Brilliant, Mat!” The Doctor called, beginning to sprint across the den, listening for the growling of the raptors. It didn’t take long for them to appear. Two large raptors came running out and towards the Doctor. 

“I got another!” Mat called, holding up the second bone. They were moving quickly, but not fast enough.

Five bones later and the raptors really were gaining. The Doctor could feel the adrenaline poisoning his veins. He just had to survive a little longer. Just a little longer. 

“I got it!” Mat cried out, the Doctor breathed in relief, making his way towards the gravestone.

They met up with Joey and Colleen at the gravesite. They placed the bones and the egg, causing a green light to jump to life. 

The group ran to the rock that the light illuminated. Beneath it, was the third totem and the next note.

_ “The rod will now lead you to the sacred hollow.”  _ Colleen read.  _ “You must lay the totems before it, and when the Light of Creation shines, place the egg inside.” _

“Wait, so is that not the shrine?” Joey asked, pointing at the grave.

“No, that’s her burial ground.” Colleen answered.

“Oh.”

“Lead the way.” The Doctor said to Joey, gesturing to the rod. Joey nodded.

“This way.”

They followed the rod to the Sacred Hollow. There was a large tree stump with a hole in the bottom. They placed the three animal totems in front, and there was a small explosion of light. 

Behind them, a rock opened up and inside was a note and a chant. The Doctor read the note:

_ “The Egg has been returned and civilization has found a way. With the ritual from the Sacred Hollow, you can now command a cursed god to release the jeweled key from its clutches. However, to enact the ritual, two must be selected by vote to venture into the raptor’s feeding pit and gather the objects required.” _

There was that horrible pause. Another one of them was about to die.

“I don’t want to kill anyone else.” Joey whispered.

“What if we all vote for ourselves?” Mat suggested. “It’ll be a 50-50 shot.”

There was a nod of agreement, and they each cast their own name.

“The first into the challenge:” The Sorceress said, “Colleen.”

“No, not again!” Colleen cried.

“The next: Mat.”

“Good luck.” The Doctor said, and the both of them disappeared.

Colleen and Mat returned in tribal caveman garb. Mat began to read their note as Joey and the Doctor watched from afar. They were too far away for Joey to hear, but the Doctor was still in range.

_ “To perform the sacred ritual, you must gather a brain, a heart, and an eyeball, and place them one by one in your basin, then chant the spell. The first to do so will receive the keys, and the other will be devoured.” _

“Right, a brain, a heart, an eyeball.” Colleen looked at Mat. “Good luck, Mat.”

“Good luck, Colleen.”

The raptor’s pit was full of blood, guts, and other such nastiness. Mat and Colleen climbed in and began rapidly searching for body parts.

“I got one, I got one!” Colleen cried, holding the brain over her head and placing it in the bowl. 

Colleen found the heart and the Doctor could see the panic in Mat’s eyes.

“I found one!” Mat put the eyeball into his bowl, making his way back in as quickly as possible.

“I got it!” Above his head, Mat raised both the brain and the heart.

“NO!” Colleen cried, but Mat had already gotten them in his basin. He picked up a note:

_ “Crimson fire burning bright, _

_ Cursed god that rules the night, _

_ Banish the shadows from the sight, _

_ And with these remains, restore the light.” _

Mat turned to Colleen, “Colleen, I –”

“It’s okay, Mat.” Colleen said, she was shockingly calm. “Goodbye.” Mat was crying,

“Goodbye.”

There was the roar of a raptor and the Doctor, Joey, and Mat averted their gaze as Colleen screamed.

And then, as quickly as they’d come, the raptors were gone.

Mat grabbed the key from the statue of the cursed god and the Doctor, Joey, Mat, and the Sorceress returned to the lounge. It was quiet, empty.

“We only have to find one more key.” Joey said optimistically.

“But that means one more of us has to die.” Mat pointed out.

“We’re almost out of time.” The Doctor said. “Thirty minutes.”

“Come on, then!” Mat grabbed the key and pushed it into the lock. 

_ Boom. _

_ Boom. _

_ Boom. _

The Doctor frantically looked around for the source, but it was nowhere to be seen. It seemed to be getting further and further away.

The Doctor, Joey, Mat, and the Sorceress made their way into a newly-opened room. Inside of it was a large staff, glowing with power.

“My staff.” The Sorceress stepped forth, mesmerized. “The Collector had it all this time.” She took two hands onto the staff and lifted it from the ground.

“This is great,” Joey said, “No, this is great. This is good news!”

“I can feel my magic coming back into me.” The Sorceress breathed. She began to cackle wildly.

But the Doctor was drawn to something else. It was a jar, bursting with life energy. It glowed green, and inside he saw faces. The same faces that would haunt him at night.

“Are those…?” Mat breathed.

“It can’t be…” Joey whispered. 

But inside the jar was the faces off all the people that he and Joey had lost.

“Can we get them out?” Mat asked.

“Wait, there’s book over here.” Joey called.

Without warning, there was an angry cry:

_ “Who dare disturb my museum?” _ It could only be one person.

The Doctor spun around, staring out the window to where the Collector stood, engulfed in rage.

“I’m going to go talk to her.” The Sorceress spat, and stormed out towards her. The Doctor could see the key around her neck. The final key.

“The children have gotten outside of their exhibit.” The Collector growled. “And they need to go back inside! And you think, because you have my keys, there’s a way out? You destroyed my collection! You stay here forever! Prepare for my wrath!”

“I think you’ve forgotten who’s among your exhibit.” The Sorceress said, “I’m not so easily discarded, bitch!”

The Sorceress and the Collector both thrusted their weapons forth, magic sizzling.

They ran forwards, spear against staff. The Sorceress hit the Collector’s leg, and she hit the ground, the Sorceress pulling out a purple-glowing knife and impaling the Collector over and over until the Collector ceased to move. 

The Sorceress stood up, turning around to face the Doctor, Joey, and Mat. She grinned, cackling.

“That was incredible!” Joey said.

“The museum is mine now!” The Sorceress cried. “You must go back to your exhibit where you belong.”

“Oh, shit.”


	10. The Collector's Wrath

The Doctor stared at the Sorceress. This was not good. This was very not good.

“You tricked us.” The Doctor breathed. 

Suddenly, a green wisp of life energy flew into the Collector. She began to laugh. An evil, maniacal laugh that the Doctor had heard so many times before.

“She can’t die?” Joey asked, looking desperately around for an answer.

“You think you can kill me in my own museum?” She asked, “My soul will return here forever.”

“Wait, if the Sorceress can’t even kill her, how are we gonna kill her?” Joey asked.

“We don’t have to kill her.” The Doctor breathed, “There has to be another way.” Mat looked at the Doctor.

“After all this time, how do you still believe that?”

“There is  _ always _ another way.” The Doctor said quietly, “I just haven’t found it yet.”

“Yours, on the other hand,” The Collector said, “Will go to hell!” The Collector slammed her spear into the ground and there was an explosion of smoke. Out of it, came running all of the creatures from before. Vampires, clowns, Benjamin. “Meet my latest collection.” The Doctor was frozen, he couldn’t move. They couldn’t be here. They couldn’t. He vaguely registered someone shouting his name, then he felt himself being dragged.

“…Help us!” The Doctor snapped to attention, his legs finally under himself and began to run.

“Remember them?” The Collector called after them, “They have not forgotten you!”

The Doctor, Mat, and Joey hid in the lounge. They could hear the clowns around them.

“Come out and play!” But finally, they seemed to come to the conclusion that the trio were not there, and left.

“Look, the Armageddon Clock opened!” Mat called, grabbing a note from within the clock.

_ “The Collector’s wrath holds no limit. If any of her monsters capture you, you’ll be taken to the Gorgon’s lair and held for two minutes before being slain by the carnival master. To be released, the others must all place a hand on the warrior statue.” _ Mat read. “There’s also this.” He held up a jar of crimson sand.

“Listen, “ Joey said, “We’re in this together. We’ve fought –”

“We don’t have time for this.” The Doctor said, “Joey, we will come get you if you get caught. Lives come first, no matter what. Now, Allons-y!” It wasn’t as playful as usual. The Doctor’s voice was harder. Angrier. Colder. He wasn’t about to let anything get in the way of the safety of his friends. Nothing.

“Is there anything in the book?” Mat said suddenly, “The one from the other room?”

The Doctor opened the Collector’s spellbook, removing a note, and began to read:

_ “The Collector cannot be slain in her museum, but she can be turned to stone by the sword of all legends. An emblem from each era must be gathered and placed around Excalibur to receive it. The first lies within the halls of Egypt.” _

“Right, so we gotta get to the Egyptian Exhibit.” The Doctor said thoughtfully, “I’ll lure them away, the two of you –”

“I can do the luring this time, Doctor.” Mat said bravely, and before the Doctor could argue, ran out of the room.

The Doctor and Joey easily made it into the Egyptian Exhibit, and not two minutes later, Mat burst through the door, bolting it behind him, gasping for breath.

“The letters of a land forgotten by time can release me.” The Doctor picked up the puzzle. It was five letters long. He spelt out E-G-Y-P-T. It clicked open. Inside was the next clue and the first emblem.

_ “The second emblem sits beneath Vishnu’s feet.” _

“I got this one!” The Doctor sprinted out, calling as much attention to himself as he could, running through the rotunda and drawing all of the opposition away. He drew them back inside, sprinting through rooms and around corners until he found himself alone once more. He snuck back outside, slipping soundlessly past and back towards where Joey and Mat were.

Mat and Joey were dragging backs. An odd sight to see, the Doctor would admit.

“We need to get these bags of sacred earth to the remains of Garuda.” Joey explained quickly. The Doctor took one of the two bags Mat was carrying and they set off across the empty grounds towards Garuda’s remains. The moment all three bags were dropped, a chest behind them jumped open. Inside was the second emblem and a note. Mat read:

_ “The next one lies where the emperor once sat to think.” _

“That one’s upstairs, isn’t it?” Mat asked.

“Oh, you are mine!” A clown screamed, running towards them.

“Run!”

The three of them sprinted inside. Fortunately, they had enough of a head start that they were far enough away to lose her easily.

The Doctor, Mat, and Joey ran upstairs to the throne room. Despite none of them having ever visited, it was not particularly difficult to find. Joey grabbed the scroll and read:

_ “The emperor loved to think of himself as a hero. Assemble the –” _

There was suddenly an insane cackling of a clown, and the three of them dove for cover under the tiny table. The two responsible for the laughter was a clown and a harpy. They skipped around the room, laughing and searching. When they finally came up with nothing, they disappeared down the hall.

The Doctor bolted the door as Joey continued to read the note:

_ “Assemble the character before the throne using the reeds to truly become one.”  _ Beneath it was a chinese symbol. The three of them grabbed the reeds and began to place them on the floor before the throne.

Behind them, a chest jumped open. Inside, the Doctor found the third emblem and a note:

_ “The next lies where flesh becomes stone.” _

“The Gorgon’s lair.” Joey suggested, and the three of them began to run, Joey ahead of the rest to draw the monsters away.

The Doctor and Mat read the next clue:

_ “Only when the garden of stone faces the Gorgon’s killer, will the secret be given up.” _

“The beast killed the Gorgon, didn’t he?” Mat asked. The Doctor nodded, and Mat pointed out, “That’s his head, isn’t it?”

“It is.” The Doctor said, he gestured around to all the statues, “Then we have to turn them to face the head.”

“Awesome.”

Just then, Joey ran back over, gasping for breath. “What’re we doing?”

“Turn the statues to face the beast.” The Doctor pointed.

“Right.”

By the time they had finished rotating the statues, a drawer rolled open. Inside it, there was a bottle of blood as well as a note. Mat read:

_ “The Gorgon was once a member of the Society Against Evil before the Collector turned her. Her blood holds the vice of vengeance and gives the sword the power of turning flesh to stone. Excalibur must be bathed in it to complete its transformation. The next emblem resides where wishes are given.” _

“So, the Collector… turned her?” Joey whispered. “This is awesome. This is the ultimate vengeance for what she did to the Gorgon.”

“Come on, we have to go back to the jinn’s lamp.” Mat said, and, the Doctor drawing the monsters away, Mat and Joey ran to the lamp. 

The Doctor sprinted through the halls loudly, drawing in the monsters around him. He finally dove behind a display case, allowing the monsters to run by, sneaking out a door and around the building, meeting back up with Mat and Joey, who were stringing rope around the room.

“We’re stringing together a story.” Mat quickly explained. “Here, I think we got it.”

_ “A wise sage and healer begins working for the king.” _

_ “The king’s closest adviser tells the king that the healer is trying to murder him.” _

_ “Fearing for his life, the king orders the healer to be executed.” _

_ “Just before he is beheaded, the healer gives the king a book of magic.” _

_ “The next day, the king reads the book, only to die from the poison on its pages.” _

The box at the back snapped open. Inside, they found the fifth emblem and a note. 

_ “X marks the spot.”  _ The Doctor peered over Joey’s shoulder, the note had a map on it.

“That’s the sands of Egypt.”

“Then let’s go.” Mat said, and the three of them were off again.

They made their way outside again, and all was quiet. Too quiet. They walked quietly.

“Shit, hide!” Joey hissed, as they spotted a clown walking towards them. They hid, but after a while, the Doctor decided it would be easier to just make a distraction. 

“Oi! Clown!” The clown’s head snapped to the side, facing the Doctor. He ran. So did she. The Doctor sprinted back into the museum, using the clutter of the exhibits to his advantage, diving around and behind things. He rounded the corner, losing her in the process. He slipped back quietly, finding Mat and Joey pulling a bag out of the water. Inside it, was the sixth emblem and the next note:

_ “The last and final emblem lies beneath the mouth of a once-great beast.” _

“Once-great beast?” Mat asked. It was just then that Benjamin (the man with no name), came running up to them.

“Run!” 

They ran towards the doorway, but in it stood one of the clowns. They turned, running back and around, down the steps.

“Let’s have a little fun, shall we?” The clown cried.

“Over here!” Mat shouted, and Benjamin and the clown ran after him, leaving the Doctor and Joey to run inside and try to decipher the clue. They found themselves in a room of taxidermied animals and dinosaur fossils. 

“What about the lion?” Mat suggested. As he reached into the lion’s mouth, the Doctor looked at the feet of a dinosaur fossil and began to read the note that lay there:

_ “Feel the rhythm of the dinosaurs. Play in perfect rhythm 4 times to reveal the final emblem.” _ Underneath were seven coloured boxes. “Red, yellow, yellow, blue, yellow, purple, purple.”

“Oh, drums!” Joey suddenly cried. Mat grabbed the red drum, Joey took the yellow drum, and the Doctor took the blue drum, but the purple was nowhere to be seen. 

“I think you need to hit the blue and red ones at the same time.” Mat suggested.

“Right.” The Doctor nodded, placing himself beside Mat.

“Ready?” Mat asked. “Red.” He said as he hit the drum.

“Yellow, yellow.” Joey said as he hit the drum.

“Blue.”

“Yellow.”

“Purple, purple.” The Doctor and Mat simultaneously finished. 

The shelf beneath the display case popped open. Inside was the final emblem and a note:

_ “Excalibur calls you. Place the emblems around it and read the words of the spell.” _

Once they got outside, they found that it was quiet. Too quiet. Much too quiet. They snuck outside and down the steps. They found torches on fire and a note:

_ “New collections must be placed in an exhibit where they belong, like the Collector herself would do. Build a ring of fire, place crimson sand in the center, and then lure them inside to complete the spell she was about to perform.” _

They made the circle from the torches and poured the sand inside it. They then made their way towards Excalibur, only to find it surrounded by creatures. Every single creature the Collector had summoned.

“Right, I’m going to distract them.” The Doctor said, “I need you to stand beyond the circle.”

“Got it.”

“Allons-y!” 

“Oi! Over here!” The Doctor shouted as he neared the clearing in which Excalibur lay. The monsters immediately began to chase the Doctor, who sprinted back towards the circle. 

The Doctor sprinted past the circle. Just as all the monsters entered the circle behind them, a red forcefield exploded to life, trapping them inside. 

“That’s right!” Joey laughed, “Enjoy your exhibit!” And with that, the monsters disappeared before their eyes. “We did it!” Joey cried.

“Come on, we’re running out of time!” Mat called, and the three of them ran to Excalibur. The Doctor placed the crystals around the sword whilst Mat poured the blood upon the hilt. The Doctor began to read the spell:

_ “Let the old fade to dust, and from the ashes of the ages, rise as the sword of all legends.” _

Lightning struck Excalibur. The sword glowed, and the Doctor took it. He was going to finish it. Once and for all. He held it up. The weight of the lives of the remaining two on his shoulders. He had to do this. Didn’t he? He had no other choice. Did he?

The Doctor, Mat, and Joey walked to where the Sorceress and the Collector were still battling it out. Then, the Sorceress hit the ground. The Collector laughed, slamming her spear into the Sorceress’s chest. She began to cackle, but then looked up, staring at the sword in the Doctor’s hand.

“It’s not possible!” She gasped. “This is my museum! You can never take it from me!”

“These are my friends.” The Doctor said, his voice cold and deadly. “And you will never take them from me.” He slammed the sword into the ground, sending a blast that knocked the Collector back, and in her moment of disorientation, the Doctor ran forwards, slamming the sword through her abdomen. The Doctor ripped the sword from the Collector’s body as her body froze and turned to stone. The Doctor tore the final key from around the Collector’s neck, and began to walk to the lounge without looking back. Mat and Joey followed. 

The Doctor pushed the key into the lock, “You ready?”

“Ready.” Mat said.

“Ready.” Said Joey.

The Doctor turned the key. The locks began to glow, the Doctor backed up. A portion of the wall creaked open. Inside was the sphere, as well as a dark and ominous box. The Doctor could feel it. The box pulsed with dark energy, the Doctor found himself stepping away from it, but Joey was moving towards it, drawn in as if in a trance.

“Joey…” The Doctor grabbed his arm, “Joey, stay away from it…”

“I – I –” Joey put his hand on the box.

“JOEY, STOP!” Joey snapped out of it, staring at the Doctor, who pulled him away. Mat took the sphere and the three of them hurried to the room where they had found the Sorceress’s staff. 

Mat cried out in surprise as the sphere glowed to life and the souls within the jar bubbled and churned. The Doctor removed the lid and they soared into the air, disappearing into the night.

“Come on,” Mat said, “We don’t have much time.”

The Doctor, Joey, and Mat hurried outside. Mat lifted up the sphere and watched it explode with golden light. Before their eyes, the portal swirled to life. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief. The night was over. They were safe. 

“Come on.” The Doctor and Mat stepped through, but Joey was not behind them. They spun, just as the portal began to close. “Joey!” The Doctor called, but Joey didn’t seem to have any desire to follow. He looked up at the Doctor, his face forming into a corrupted smile. “Joey?”

And then the portal was closed. Before the Doctor and Mat stood Ryu and Jael.

“What happened?”

“Where’s Joey?”

“I don’t know.” 


	11. A Lonely Goodbye

The Doctor and Mat made their way to the TARDIS. The Doctor felt relief fill his body as he was surrounded by the calming hum of the TARDIS once again. The Doctor made his way to the med-bay, as he cleaned himself up, Mat sat down in silence, deep in thought. 

“We failed.” Mat finally said. “We failed everyone.”

“It’s not your fault.” The Doctor said.

“It’s not yours either.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do, actually.” Mat said. “You showed up when you didn’t have to, joined us when you knew the risks, nearly died a bunch of times… Doctor, you did everything in your power to save everyone, it’s not your fault if you only saved one, but that’s just the thing. You  _ did  _ save one.”

“Thank you.” The Doctor said gratefully, even if he didn’t really believe him. He took a deep breath. “Home it is, then?”

“Yeah.” Mat said.

“Allons-y.” The Doctor made his way back to the console room, walking around the TARDIS, pushing buttons and flicking levers. The TARDIS took off, materializing in Mat’s front yard.

Mat looked at the Doctor, “Come for dinner sometime.”  
“What?”

“Dinner.” Mat repeated. “Meet the family and all that.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Really?”

The Doctor shrugged. 

“You don’t by any chance have a phone, do you?”

“I – er – yeah.” 

“Write it on here, then.” Mat said, holding out a pad of paper. “Just call if you need anything.” The Doctor wrote his number on the paper.

“And you.”

“No, really Doctor.” Mat said, “If you ever don’t want to be alone…” The Doctor knew what Mat meant. He knew the Doctor shouldn’t be left alone. The Doctor nodded.

“Right, and you.”  
“Okay, I’m gonna crash.” Mat said, hurrying to the doorstep. Just as he was unlocking the door, he looked back at the Doctor. “Please do stop by.”

The Doctor nodded, waving a hand. The door shut, and the Doctor was alone. He took the TARDIS to the vortex. He closed his eyes. He failed. He had failed time after time. He just prayed there wouldn’t be another time to fail.


End file.
